Cursed Fate
by TheKaiserofDestruction
Summary: Percy Jackson is different from the other demigods. His powers, for some reason, are more powerful than any other demigods'. For many years, he has been on the streets and on the run. During his time alone, he trained himself to be a perfect warrior. Now, he is plunged into a war that will make him wonder whether his fate was cursed from the start. AU.
1. Son of Darkness

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

**This story is not a crossover. This story was in my head for a while.**

**I'm working on other stories alongside this one. Check them out if you want.**

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* * *

_Blessed is he  
whose transgressions are forgiven,  
whose sins are covered._

_Blessed is the man_  
_whose sin the Lord does not count against him_  
_and in whose spirit is no deceit._

_When I kept silent,_  
_my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long._

_For day and night_  
_your hand was heavy upon me;_  
_my strength was sapped_  
_as in the heat of summer._

_Then I acknowledged my sin to you_  
_and did not cover up my iniquity._

_I said, "I will confess_  
_my transgressions to the Lord" _  
_and you forgave_  
_the guilt of my sin._

_Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you_  
_while you may be found;_  
_surely when the mighty waters rise,_  
_they will not reach him._  
_You are my hiding place;_  
_you will protect me from trouble_  
_and surround me with songs of deliverance._

_Psalm 32:1-7._

Twelve year old Percy Jackson knew this Bible passage by heart. When he was eight years old and on the run, he had stumbled upon a man reading the passage on the street. The man had smiled at him pitifully and gave him the article before walking away. Percy followed the man in an effort to return the paper, for he was sure that the man was mistaking him for somebody else. However, to his surprise, the man had disappeared as if he had never existed. It was strange. The man was wearing the strangest suit that Percy had ever seen in his life. The suit was completely black, but it had white splotches on it that seemed to shimmer and twinkle on the suit like the stars and galaxies of the nighttime sky.

Now, Percy was much more intelligent than most children his age. He easily understood what the passage's meaning was, and he cried for days after reading it. The passage had done nothing except reopen a deep wound in his heart. He vividly remembered the horrible experience of having Gabe Ugliano as a stepfather. The man had tortured him and his mother for years before finally killing her. It was then that something within Percy had snapped. After seeing his mother's blank expression staring back at him and the blood pooling around her, Percy didn't remember much. Everything afterwards was blurry and the next thing he could remember was waking up in a forest. He soon found out that Gabe had died from a heart attack on the news. Apparently, the doctors claimed that he had died from fear. Strange.

For three years, Percy had hated that man for reopening the wound in his chest. For three years, Percy could feel the guilt eating at him, destroying him from inside out, just like the man in the passage. After three years, however, Percy realized that his guilt eventually stopped eating away at him. It had remained, but it no longer tore him apart inside out, and Percy felt like he had gotten a sudden energy boost. Whoever that man was, he had helped Percy realize that the guilt had been eating away at the young boy for much longer than he had thought. The man had helped Percy move on.

When Percy was four years old, he was at the park with his mother. It was morning, and they were completely alone. Strangely, there was absolutely no one in sight. The air was cool and dry and felt wonderful against his face. As they walked, a massive black dog with glowing white eyes appeared out of nowhere and bit his right arm, latching onto it with no desire to let go. Percy remembered screaming in pain and collapsing. He remembered the dog yelping in pain and letting go of him, growling at his mother, who was waving something bronze in front of her. Percy didn't remember what happened afterwards, for he had fainted. When he woke up, he had no injuries and no evidence that he had been bitten. The only thing that his mother had said was that the water had healed him. Soon, afterwards, the monsters began to attack, and Percy's mother married Gabe Ugliano, who definitely lived up to his name. It was then that Percy's mother explained to the young boy that he was a very powerful demigod and that the Greek mythological world was real.

Now, Percy was no stranger to the mythological world of the Greeks. His mother often told him bedtime stories that were actually Greek legends and myths. Percy was quick to figure out that Greek heroes mostly had terrible lives and horrible deaths. Percy's mother explained that he was named after Perseus in hopes of having him get the same luck that the legendary son of Zeus had.

Percy wasn't really a believer of that now.

Percy was now sitting on a bench in New York's Central Park, reading a book that he had stolen from a book store. Although he had originally struggled a lot more than other kids to read simple letters, after the incident with the black dog, he found that reading was very easy for him. He enjoyed reading very much, as it served as a gateway to another world where he could forget his troubles. Books were Percy's alcohol.

Percy was dressed in jeans and black t-shirt. He was also wearing a hoodie and had his hood up, concealing his face. Even though he wasn't exactly a fugitive or trying to hide from the public, Percy still didn't like having his face exposed. His face was marred by a large scar starting from his right eyebrow and going down to his cheek. Whenever Percy had his hood off, people would stare at him weirdly.

However, he could barely concentrate today on his book. Percy thought about his powers. Percy knew that he was a son of Poseidon. His sea green eyes, powers of water, and ability to speak to horses and fish were obvious clues, and it didn't take too long to figure out who his godly parent was. However, there was something that Percy could not explain.

After the incident with the black dog, Percy had started showing powers over darkness and for some reason, illusions and the Mist. His once sea green eyes now had a black ring around his irises, and his hair turned blacker. He also felt stronger—much, much stronger than before. After the incident, Percy found that whenever he was outside, mortals seemed to be afraid of him. He never understood why. He also found out later on after running away that he could travel through the shadows and that he could sense people sneaking up on him from the shadows.

Even today, Percy did not fully understand his powers over darkness. He had searched for an answer, but he could not find one.

Percy sighed and held his hand in front of him. The shadows around him rippled and shifted before moving towards his hand. They gathered and formed the shape of a sword before dissipating. Percy found himself holding a pure pitch black sword that he had named Shade. Percy still had no idea what it was made of, but he did know that it was deadly to both mortals and monsters. It was a neat trick that Percy had learned. He could create any weapon from the shadows, but he preferred to make swords. After spending much too much time looking at fan arts of armors, Percy created his own armor from the shadows. He had also studied combat and he found that it was quite easy to do and came to him naturally—luckily.

Percy had absolutely no concern for the mortals. He found that he could alter the Mist quite easily and trick mortals into doing whatever he wanted (like giving him a book, for example).

Percy dropped the sword into the shadows and the sword disappeared into the darkness. Percy looked up at the nighttime sky and sighed comfortably, staring at the crescent moon. For some reason, he felt a lot more comfortable in the dark and at the sea.

Suddenly, Percy sensed something behind him. It wasn't mortal. He dropped his book in his backpack and kicked his belongings into a nearby shadow. He then raised his arms. The shadows shifted and responded to his will, wrapping around him like a blanket. After a few seconds, the shadows cleared, revealing Percy's black armor. He raised his hand and Shade appeared in his hands.

"Who's there?" he demanded. The shadows rippled in front of him. It formed the shape of a tall man. The shadows then cleared, revealing a pale skinned man dressed in black armor with a blood red cape. Percy's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Hades waved his hand. "Sleep," he commanded. Percy stumbled backwards. His eyes drooped, but he managed to stay awake and hold on to consciousness. Hades frowned, shocked. There had never been a demigod who had been able to withstand his sleeping spell. "_Sleep,_" He said more forcibly. Percy seemed to hold on for a while before he dropped to the ground, unconscious. Hades was shocked. How could any demigod be this powerful? Hades had originally come because he had sensed the power of a minor god here, and instead he found a demigod reading a book. Hades hesitated. The boy was obviously a son of Poseidon. Hades could smell the salty air and sense the aura of the sea coming off of him. Hades had half a mind to go immediately to Olympus and yell at Poseidon for breaking the oath, but something about the boy made him hesitate. There was a different aura coming off of him—something much darker.

After debating with himself for a while, Hades flicked his wrist. The shadows covered him and Percy, transporting both of them to the Underworld. Hades gathered the young boy in his arms and summoned a bed. He placed the young boy in the bed and placed a hand above Percy's head. He then looked into the boy's memories and immediately stopped, horrified at what the boy had endured. It was strange really. The god of the Underworld who oversaw almost all the punishments for the dead was horrified by the tortures that Percy had to endure as a child. Hades was so surprised that he was unable to sense his wife Persephone flash in next to him.

Persephone saw Percy and immediately scoffed. "Don't tell me you broke the oath and sired a another demigod spawn of yours." No answer. "Oh, I suppose you're ignoring me now?" Persephone said derisively. Her expression turned concerned when Hades still didn't answer. "Hades? Are you alright?"

Hades finally turned around. "Look into his mind," he said.

"What?"

"Just look into his memories," Hades said tiredly, rubbing his eyes with one hand. Persephone frowned and placed a hand over Percy's head. She immediately gasped and pulled back, unable to keep watching.

"Who is he?"

"Another one of Poseidon's spawn," Hades growled. "I originally wanted to bring this boy to Olympus and have Zeus smite him, but then I found something quite peculiar." He gestured towards Percy with his hand. "He is Barnacle Beard's spawn, and yet he has control over the shadows. The only reason why I found him was because his power signature was similar to that of a minor god's."

Persephone frowned down at the boy with worry. "What will you do with him?"

Hades, for once in his godly life, hesitated. "I am not sure. I originally planned to throw him back into the streets—"

"You will not do such a cruel thing to this child," Persephone snapped.

Hades sighed. "Then what would you have me do, my wife? It isn't like I can just keep him here and raise him myself."

"Perhaps we can." Hades stared at his wife with a bewildered expression. After a while, he agreed.

It was then that Percy woke up. He shot up instantly and saw the two gods staring at him. He immediately jumped off of the bed and held out his hand, backing away. Shade formed in his hands and he lifted it in a defensive stance. "What do you want with me? Why did you put me to sleep and kidnap me?" Percy demanded. "Who are you?"

Hades raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Think, Percy Jackson. You're pretty smart. Which god has power of the shadows?"

Percy's eyebrows furrowed as he thought. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Hades?" The man nodded. Percy hesitated. He felt like he should bow, but he wasn't sure whether Hades was a friend or foe. After all, the myths and legends didn't exactly describe Hades as the nicest god on the block. "What do you want with me?"

"Percy, do you know who I am?" Persephone asked.

Percy looked at her. "You're...are you Persephone, wife of Hades?" Persephone smiled gently and nodded.

"What do you want with me?" Percy asked in a quieter tone.

The two gods explained their offer to him.

Percy stared at both of them. He turned away. "I must decline your offer, Lord Hades and Lady Persephone. I already a had a family. I'm afraid nothing can replace that. But..." Percy turned to them. "I have no problem with having two allies I can depend on, if that is alright with you."

Persephone smiled and nodded. "That would be excellent, Percy."

Hades nodded. However, before he could say anything, he heard something very peculiar. Howling. It was like all the hellhounds below and above the surface were howling.

Percy frowned, looking up. "What was that?"

Hades looked at Percy a little warily. "That...was the hellhounds showing their respect to their new lord."

"Lord?"

"Yes. You are now the lord of the hellhounds."

"The lord? So I'm, like, the king of all hellhounds?"

Hades hesitated. "In a way, yes. They will now follow your every command."

Percy was impressed, flattered, and confused at the same time. What had he done to get this title? He needed some time to think.

"Um...Lord Hades, if it isn't too much to ask, may I leave now and return to the surface?"

Hades nodded. "Yes. From now on, you have my permission to go back and forth from the surface to my domain whenever you wish."

Percy bowed. "Thank you, Lord Hades." He turned and ran into the darkness.

* * *

"You called for me, Lord Hades?" Percy, now fourteen years old, stood in front of Hades, who was sitting on his throne. Persephone was next to her husband, smiling at Percy.

Hades nodded. "I have a favor to ask of you, Percy." Percy nodded. "My son and daughter, Nico and Bianca, are at Westover Hall, a school in Maine."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Your children? They...they were the ones you mentioned before, right?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, they are in danger. There is a manticore at the school. Camp Half-Blood has sent a group of three demigods to retrieve Nico and Bianca, and the Hunters of Artemis are also headed for the school. They must not be the ones to get my children, for they will find out that Nico and Bianca are my children and kill them. Your mission is to interfere and retrieve them before the others can. The Furies will be standing by, ready to assist."

Percy shook his head. "That will not be necessary. Let them help Thanatos deal with the problem in the Fields of Asphodel. I'll get Nico and Bianca myself and drop them off in front of your throne when I succeed."

Hades looked at him with concern and a little doubt. "Consider well, my boy. It will be dangerous. The enemy at the moment is not just the monsters but Olympus as well. You must be careful."

Percy nodded. "I will, Lord Hades. My enemies are dangerous, I'll admit, but they aren't the only ones."

Hades smiled slightly. "If you need assistance, pray and I will send reinforcements."

Percy bowed. "Your assistance is very much appreciated, Lord Hades." He immediately turned and ran off.

Hades stared at him go. Percy's powers over darkness had increased tremendously, but something was off. His powers were beginning to rival that of Hades himself. Hades knew that Percy was different from all the other demigods, for there was no demigod in history who ever had the power to stand up to a god at such a young age. Hades did have his suspicions on where the boy got his powers over the shadows, but he did not say it. All he could do was pray that he was wrong.

If only he knew that he was right.

* * *

Percy ran away from the palace and to a cliff overlooking the Underworld. He sprinted and jumped off of the cliff, falling quickly to the ground. Percy tucked in his arms and narrowed his eyes. He fell into a shadow and immediately came out of the other side flying. He rolled quickly when he landed and got up, running towards Westover Hall. He whistled and a hellhound shot out of the shadows, running next to him.

"Take a group and distract the Hunters! Do not try to kill them—only harass them long enough to buy me time. Try not to get injured or killed. Go!" The hellhound nodded and ran back into the shadows.

Over the two years, Percy had become a very powerful fighter in terms of swordsmanship and power. While he did not have any respect for Poseidon since the god had abandoned him and his mother, Percy still trained his water powers as much as he could. However, he had to admit, training his powers over darkness was more fun and also more comfortable. Over the years, Percy had learned that he had absolute command over every hellhound on Earth. He could also generate shields of darkness to block magical and non-magical attacks. He could also control the shadows and solidify them, making them a deadly weapon. He found that he could shadow travel himself almost anywhere as long as he knew exactly where the place was. The best thing about Percy's powers was that the water and the shadows healed him when he had injuries and also increased his strength. After researching for months, Percy was met by a man who gave him some very important information about the origin of his powers over darkness. To say that Percy was surprised was an understatement. He had originally thought that the man was lying, and so he tried to kill the man, but the man quickly proved that he was telling the truth about Percy's powers.

Over the years, Percy had traveled all over the world to train. He had taken a liking to the area around the Mediterranean Sea, for there were many monsters there. It was there that he came across the minor god Heracles. Heracles had tried to stop Percy from passing, and was quite annoying. Percy eventually snapped and released his power. He couldn't describe what happened afterwards. The son of Zeus screamed in terror and collapsed to the ground, dropping a hair clip. Percy, out of curiousity, took the hair clip. He found out that the hair clip turned into a sword called Anaklusmos, or Riptide. Soon afterwards, Heracles woke up, but he was so weak and so disorientated that Percy was able to bend the Mist to his will and convince Heracles that the god was letting him pass and was also giving him Anaklusmos.

After fighting Heracles, Percy was ambushed by a large army of monsters. He fought, but was eventually defeated. When he was about to die, something strange happened. The monsters reacted the same way Heracles had reacted, except instead of fainting, they all crumbled into dust. It was after that battle that Percy realized that he had killed the monsters by bending the shadows and using fear to kill them. Percy had tried to train himself to use that skill, but everytime he tried to use it, he would be drained of energy for days. The only time Percy had managed to use it was when he was very, very angry or very desperate.

Percy finally reached Westover Hall and he opened the door. Luckily, there was no one inside. Then a lady suddenly came out from a hallway.

The lady pointed at him. "You there! What are you—"

Percy snapped his fingers and said, "I'm not real. You're going back to where you came from. You're going to shut up and forget you ever saw me." The lady blinked and walked away immediately.

Percy rolled his eyes in amusement. Mortals. They were so weak-minded. His expression turned serious again and he ran off, looking for the children of Hades.

Hades...Percy had a lot of respect for the god and his wife. While Percy had declined their offer to adopt him, they still were good friends. Percy had met Demeter once, and the goddess was shocked when she saw him. Hades quickly convinced her to swear on the River Styx to not say a word of Percy's existence. Demeter was hesitant at first, but eventually agreed. Afterwards, she and Percy became good allies.

Percy burst in a large room full of dancing kids. Percy cursed, wondering how he was going to find the kids now. He was about to use the shadows to locate the two siblings, but then he saw two girls armed with Celestial Bronze weapons and a poorly concealed satyr running down a hallway. Percy quickly followed them, hiding in the shadows to remain undetected.

Soon, Percy found himself at a clearing. His eyes narrowed when he saw the di Angelo siblings being threatened by a manticore. There was a boy his age next to them, but he was of no importance to Percy.

Percy saw one of the girls put on a cap and disappear. He cursed silently. He had to act fast.

Percy thrust his hand out and the shadows responded to his command, wrapping around the di Angelos and sending them to Hades. The manticore roared in surprise and spun around, finally noticing the girl and the satyr. The girl summoned a shield and spear from her bracelet and a mace canister. The satyr grabbed his pipes and got ready to play. Percy rolled his eyes and stepped out of the shadows. He held out his hand and a bow formed in his hand from the shadows.

The manticore growled at him. "Who are you?!" the manticore demanded.

Percy grinned. "Me? I'm no one. I'm just a regular guy who is going to kill you."

The manticore growled and shot several spikes at Psrcy, who quickly created barrier of darkness around him. The spikes bounced off and struck the manticore in his shoulders, making the monster roar in pain.

Percy grinned evilly and pulled back on the bow string. A arrow completely made out of darkness formed. Percy aimed up and fired randomly. He then threw the bow into the shadows.

The manticore snorted. "What was that, boy? You just missed _and_ threw away your weapon!"

Percy's grin didn't disappear. "I don't need a weapon, manticore. You're going to find that an arrow will strike your heart in three, two, one, _now_." Percy snapped and the black arrow came down from the sky and buried itself in the manticore's body. The manticore roared in pain. Before Percy could do anything, a silver arrow struck the manticore in the face and he collapsed on the ground before crumbling into dust. _The Hunters of Artemis, _Percy thought, not looking forward to meeting them.

Before he could escape, several girls dressed in silver clothes and wielding silver bows and silver hunting knives appeared from the woods. One of them was wearing a tiara—no doubt the leader of the group. Judging by their auras, Percy could tell that the goddess Artemis was with them. Percy cursed silently. If the goddess wasn't here, he could just bend the Mist to his will and force everyone to forget that he had ever existed.

An auburn haired girl who looked about twelve years old stepped forward. Since her aura was the most powerful, Percy knew that she was Artemis. He bowed in respect. "Lady Artemis."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Who are you, boy? I have never seen you before."

Percy stood up straight. "I am Perseus Jackson. That is all you need to know."

Artemis' eyes flared a little. "As an Olympian Goddess, I command you to tell me whatever it is that you are hiding from me."

To Artemis' surprise, Percy laughed. "I'm sorry, Lady Artemis, but I don't take orders from Olympus."

Artemis grew in height and with blinding speed, pressed a dagger against Percy's throat. "You would dare show such disrespect to a goddess? I can slit your throat right here, right now if I so desired, boy."

To Artemis' surprise, Percy did not look afraid. He looked at her with a serious expression. "I don't think it is you who has the most leverage here, Lady Artemis." He tilted his head towards her Hunters. Artemis turned around and froze. Her Hunters were immobilized by tendrils of darkness. "With little more than thought, I can snap their necks. I don't want to do this, but right now, you are leaving me no choice, Lady Artemis. I am sorry."

Artemis glared at Percy. "Name your price. What do you want?"

"In exchange for your Hunter's safety? Simple." Percy gestured to the dagger under his chin. "I would appreciate not becoming a practice dummy for the Lady Artemis herself. If you stop trying to find out how much you can press your dagger against my neck before it bleeds, I will release your Hunters. I swear on the Styx." Thunder rumbled above.

Artemis narrowed her eyes before she withdrew her dagger reluctantly. Almost instantly, her Hunters were released and gently placed back on the ground by the shadow tendrils. Percy bowed again. "I would like to apologize for my actions, Lady Artemis, but I'm afraid that I am not looking forward to death yet. I also would like to apologize on behalf of the hellhounds. I hope that they did not harass you too much."

"That was you?!" A girl marched up to Percy and drew two hunting knives. She was the one wearing the tiara. With it, she looked almost like a princess—that is, if she didn't look so angry. "Did you send those hellhounds?!"

Percy nodded. "I apologize for any inconveniences that they caused you. If anyone was injured, I apologize for the hellhounds' actions. I had simply told them to distract you so that I could save the two new demigods."

The girl looked like she wanted to slap Percy, but Artemis help up a hand. "Enough, Zoë." Artemis regarded Percy coldly. "Do you realize that by saving the two demigods and sending them to somewhere unknown, you are defying the Olympian gods?"

Percy shook his head. "I am not defying anything or anyone. I saved the children as a favor to an old friend."

"And just who might this 'old friend' be?"

Percy sighed. He knew that Artemis would get the answer sooner or later. Might as well tell her now and have the blame directed towards him instead of towards the di Angelos. "Hades. The siblngs are his children. I came here to rescue and to send the two to Hades' domain."

Before Artemis could say anything, one of the demigods of Camp Half-Blood stomped forward, drawing a sword. "How dare you interfere with a quest for Olympus?!" the boy demanded, poking Percy's chest with the blade tip.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Don't bother trying to threaten me, kid. If I wanted to, I could have your head on a stake being cooked on a spit in a flash if I wanted."

The boy's face reddened in anger. "You dare threaten me? Me, Orion, the son of Poseidon?!"

Percy chuckled before he snapped his fingers. The shadows shifted and several tendrils shot out from the darkness, wrapping around the boy's sword, sword arm, and body. The shadows then wrenched the boy away from Percy and pinned him to the ground. A massive spear formed from the shadows and levitated right over the boy's head. "Yes, boy, I dare." The shadows covered his face and then receded, revealing his unconscious expression.

"Orion!" the blond girl screamed. She ran to the son of Poseidon's unconscious body. "Are you alright?" She glared at Percy with stormy gray eyes. "What did you do to my boyfriend?!"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "He's your boyfriend?" he said incredulously. "Well then, I pity you." He turned to Artemis. "The two children of Hades are innocent. If your father Lord Zeus found out about the children, he would smite them immediately even though they are not to blame. Assuming, of course, that he does not know about them, which I find highly unlikely. I presume he sent the Hunt here to take the two siblings into custody?"

Artemis was taken aback by the demigod's intelligence. Before she could say anything, however, a figure dressed in golden armor appeared at the edge of the cliff. Before anyone could react, the stranger lifted his hand and shot a blast of fire at Zoë. Artemis could not react to it in time and she knew that her lieutenant was done for.

Percy, on the other hand, was able to react. He jumped into the shadows and reappeared next to Zoë, grabbing her and holding her protectively. Percy knew that by touching Artemis' lieutenant, he risked death, but he couldn't just let a girl die because he was too afraid to act. As the fireball neared, Percy quickly formed a barrier of darkness, protecting both of them. The fireball dissipated against the barrier and Percy immediately let go of the Huntress. He whirled around, but the man was already gone. He cursed and reached out with his senses, but the man was gone.

Percy turned to Artemis. "The man is gone. I can't sense him for miles. And I apologize for touching your lieutenant, but I had to in order to save her."

Artemis just stared at him in shock. "Who are you?"

"Pardon?"

Artemis' eyes narrowed. "Your power right now is similar to that of a minor god's. Who is your godly parent?"

Percy hesitated, then sighed.

"I am Perseus Jackson. Son of Erebus."

* * *

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	2. Germany!

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* * *

_"I am Perseus Jackson. Son of Erebus."_

Artemis stared at the teenager in front of her, shocked. "Impossible," she gasped. Her eyes narrowed. "You lie. There cannot be a demigod child of a Primordial god. There never has been in the history of the gods. And I can sense the aura of the sea on you. You are a son of Poseidon."

Percy frowned. "I am. Sort of. I am also the son of Erebus. And with all due respect, Lady Artemis, how can you be so sure? I mean no disrespect, but you are not a Primordial goddess. There is no way that you can know whether a Primordial could have a mortal child."

Artemis cursed inwardly. Percy had a good point. How could she know whether a Primordial god could have a demigod child? Theoretically, it was possible. "How can I be sure that you are telling the truth, boy?"

Percy sighed. "I swear on the River Styx that I am telling the truth." Thunder rumbled above, and to Artemis' shock, nothing happened to Percy. "If you wish, you may look into my memories to check if it is true."

Artemis hesitated, and then held her hand in front of Percy's forehead.

_(Flashback):_

_It was dark. Percy was sitting on a bench under a lamp post and reading a book in Central Park. He was thirteen years old then. He grinned slightly as he read a particularly funny sentence. His eyes darted back and forth as he hungrily flipped through the pages, eager to find out more about Andy Muse and Theseus Neptune. Normally, Percy wasn't really one for romance novels, but this story was unlike the rest and so much more action-packed that Percy just couldn't turn it down. After reading the first page, he had already been hooked. _

_As Percy read on, he sighed comfortably. Reading a book in the dark where no one was around was a hobby of Percy's. As he read, he noticed a small typo. He chuckled and held out his hand. A black-ink pen formed in his hands. He clicked the pen and circled the misspelled word. He wrote the correct spelling and wondered how the editors missed this. He tossed his pen behind him into the shadows casually and continued to read. _

_Suddenly, the shadows around him seemed to darken even more than they already were. Percy suddenly felt a huge aura behind him. Acting out of instinct, he dropped his book in his backpack and kicked it into the shadows. At the same time, he summoned his armor and took out the hair clip that he had stolen from Heracles. He squeezed the hair clip and Anaklusmos expanded to reveal a deadly leaf-shaped celestial bronze sword. He raised it and got into a defensive stance. For some strange reason, he felt very nervous and apprehensive. His senses tingled and his mental radar was going crazy._

_A massive black dog with glowing red eyes appeared from the shadows and growled. It was a hellhound. Percy was confused. All hellhounds obeyed him and none of them had ever rebelled. So why was this one so different from the others? It baffled Percy. _

_The hellhound growled threateningly. Percy frowned. "Stand down," he commanded. The hellhound did nothing. "Heel. Sit. Roll. Speak."_

"It has been a long time, my boy,"_ the hellhound said in a male voice. The hellhound's voice was deep and low, sounding ancient and dark._

_Percy yelled in surprise and fell backwards. "When I said speak, I didn't mean speak for real! What are you?!"_

_The hellhound_—_whatever it was_—_began to morph and the shadows wrapped around the morphing dog creature. Percy felt the creature's aura dramatically increase as it morphed. The shadows eventually dissipated, revealing a tall man dressed in casual clothes that were completely black. His eyes were black with white dots splattered on his irises. The shadows seemed to ripple and warp at the man's presence. A barrier of mist formed around the man and Percy, concealing both of their auras. A __ring of darkness formed on the ground around the man's feet and the air around the man rippled in a similar way the Mist would when used. Two massive black feathered wings extended from the man's back. The man was holding a scepter that glowed purple and there was a black gem on one end that sent waves of power through Percy, making him feel like an insect compared to this man. Percy had felt the power of Hades and his realm and when compared to the man in front of Percy, it was like pitting a scrawny eight year old bully against a nuke. Hades' power was nothing compared to what the man seemed to possess. Percy put his sword down and willed it to turn back into a hair clip. He then pocketed it, knowing that he stood no chance against the man in front of him, who was obviously a god._

_"Who-who are you?" Percy asked a little quietly, trying hard to not end up sounding like a little girl. But then again, he probably did._

_The man smiled gently_—_surprisingly. Percy had fully expected the man to try and kill him."It has been a very long time since I had last seen you, Percy. I'm sorry our last meeting did not go very well. I must have caused you a lot of pain. But it was necessary."_

_Percy's eyes widened. "Were you that man on the street wearing a suit that looked like the nighttime sky who gave me that Bible passage about guilt and forgiveness?"_

_For a second, the man looked troubled_—_terrified, even. "Bible passage? I'm afraid that was not me, but that_ was_ a good friend of mine. We had last met in Central Park when you were only four years old. I am not sure whether you remember or not though. You were with your mother, Sally."_

_Percy's eyes widened before they narrowed. "You're the black dog that bit me on the arm! When I woke up, there was no injury. What did you do to me?!"_

_The man winced. He sighed. "By biting you, I awakened the powers over the darkness and mists inside of you. I'm sorry that it had to be painful."_

_Percy stared at the man. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What relation do you have with me? Why did you give me these powers over the shadows and the Mist?"_

_The man smiled sadly. "I am Erebus, Primordial god of darkness and mists. And you are my son, Percy."_

_Percy stared at the Primordial, shocked. "You're lying. My deadbeat father is Poseidon."_

_Erebus sighed. "Yes, well, that is a little hard to explain. I suppose I'll start from the beginning. I had come to Earth to pick up a few books to read. You see, a hobby of mine is to get a good book and read in the dark. Does that sound familiar?" Percy nodded, surprised. "Well, in this trip, I met a very beautiful woman. Now, I was not one to chase after mortals like some Olympian god, but this woman was unique. Her eyes twinkled and always seemed to glow with happiness and love. It was quite interesting, how we met."_

_Percy eyed Erebus strangely, not following. "Okay...how did you meet?" _

_Erebus chuckled. "I had just gotten my books and I was headed to a Jamba Juice to get a smoothie. My daughter, Hemera, had always said that I had an insatiable sweet tooth. Moving on, I had just bough a smoothie when a young woman bumped into me, making me spill my smoothie all over myself. It was your mother." Percy stared at Erebus in shock. "She had just gotten off a shift somewhere else and was at the restaurant to work. Her manager yelled at her for being late and for being so clumsy, but I quickly altered the Mist and made the manager forget the whole ordeal. I also convinced the manager that she was already done working and that he had to pay her for a week's worth of salary. After I did this, do you know what your mother asked me?" Erebus was now laughing a little. _

_Percy eyed him warily. "What?"_

_Erebus let out a hearty laugh. "She asked me whether I was going to kill her." _Wow, this guy's mind is twisted, _Percy thought. "You see, your mother could see through the Mist. She was a clear-sighted mortal. I was tempted to force her to forget meeting me and leave, but she figured who I was, surprisingly. We talked for a while, and became good friends eventually. I had never had a mortal friend before, so I stayed around on Earth for a while. After a few months, we began to date. One day, it happened. We consummated our relationship. It was right after that I had to go back to my home in the realm of my father, Khaos, for he was holding a meeting. It was afterwards that I was confronted by my wife, Nyx. She had known about my unfaithfulness. She had wanted to kill your mother right then, but I convinced her otherwise. Still, she sent her steeds Shadow and Shade after me for days, but I knew that I deserved it. When I returned to your mother, I found her crying on her bed. I found out from her that Poseidon had forced himself upon her. I had wanted to kill him right then, but your mother begged me not to. I stayed with her for many more days before I had to leave. My continued presence on Earth was beginning to affect the mortal lives. I bid farewell to your mother and left. Afterwards, I kept watch over her, making sure that she was safe. Then you were born."_

_Percy frowned. "Wait. What about my powers? How come I have both Poseidon's and your powers? I need to know!"_

_Erebus sighed. "When that wretched sea god forced himself upon your mother, his seed and my seed combined, somehow. The result was a demigod child with the powers of two gods."_

_Percy winced. "Okay, I take that back. I really didn't have to know."_

_Erebus smiled. "You are a lot like your mother. It's both unfortunate and fortunate that you look more like Poseidon than me."_

_Percy raised an eyebrow. "Why?"_

_"My mortal form has less influence than those of the Olympians. There was a chance that you would turn out as a demon baby." Percy stared at Erebus disbelievingly. "My apologies, Percy."_

_"Okay, okay." Percy hesitated. "I just want to know one thing." Erebus nodded. "Where were you when mom and I were being tortured by my shitty stepfather again and again? Why didn't you hide me in a mist or something so that the monsters wouldn't chase me?" Percy's voice had risen to a shout. "Why did you have to let mom die?!"_

_Erebus didn't answer for a while. Whether it was out of shame or because he was thinking of an answer, Percy did not know. "You were dying. The power of the sea was beginning to run rampant through your body. I saw this and I decided to interfere and awaken your original powers to negate the effect that your sea powers were having on you. However, by awakening your powers, I had to use a lot of energy, and I was forced to leave the mortal world. Immediately after, I fell into a deep sleep as I recovered. When I woke up, I found that your mother was dead and that you were on the run. I tried to return, but I was still too weak. It wasn't until today, right now, that I finally recovered enough energy to come here and find you. And now here we are." Erebus' expression turned serious. "Now be warned, Percy. I may not be able to help you for a long time, for I am already almost drained of energy again. You will have to find your own path. I am sorry for not being the best father, or even a good father to you."_

_Percy hesitated. "It's alright. Thanks for telling me about all this...d-dad."_

_Erebus smiled. The white dots on his eyes seemed to twinkle like the stars in the nighttime sky. "You're welcome, my son." He got up to leave. "Oh, and you've done an impressive job with the hellhounds. They are always telling their mother how much they love you."_

_"Their mother?"_

_"Nyx."_

_"...oh."_

_(End Flashback)._

Percy opened his eyes and ignored the shocked look on Artemis' face. "I believe that is enough evidence." He stepped back, hoping to leave. However, he was stopped by Artemis' lieutenant, Zoë.

"How dare you speak to milady that way, _boy_?" she demanded, gripping her bow tightly. Her other hand was edging towards her quiver, ready to grab an arrow and use Percy's head for target practice.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Like I said, I meant no disrespect, Zoë—if I may call you that."

Zoë's eyes narrowed. "You may not, boy."

"Fine. I'll call you Huntress then." Zoë's eyes narrowed at Percy. He rolled his eyes. "Well, I need to call you _something_, don't I? Since you won't allow me to call you by your name, I'll call you by your rank. Or does that insult you as well?"

Zoë looked like she wanted nothing more than to shoot Percy in the head. Hoping not to cause a battle, he turned to Artemis. "If that is all, milady, I believe I will be taking my leave." He was about to will the shadows to transport him to a bookstore in New York, for he was trying to get the last Harry Potter book: _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ before the supply ran out in the store (that had happened with the sixth book and Percy was ready to rip the store apart when he found out that there weren't any copies left in the store). Although the book had been released months before, people were still rushing to get it. And now that it was December and Christmas was coming up, even more people were buying the book. Great. Just great.

Just then, thunder rumbled above and lightning flashed. Artemis looked up. "I'm afraid not, boy. Zeus demands your presence on Olympus."

Zoë watched as Percy's complexion turned to shock and back to emotionless in a split second. "And if I refuse?" he asked.

"I will be forced to capture and incapacitate you before taking you to Olympus."

Percy scowled. He was very tempted to attempt to run, but this was Artemis he would be running from. If it any other god, it would be pretty easy to run and stay hidden. Since Artemis was the goddess of the Hunt, Percy wasn't very confident that he would be able to hide from her. Eventually, she would find him and probably kill him painfully.

"Very well." Percy nodded. "I'll go with you to Olympus."

Artemis nodded and Percy's hands were instantly bound in chains. He raised an eyebrow at her. "This is a safety precaution."

Percy smiled a little. "I don't see why you would bother. I highly doubt that I would be able to stand up for even a few seconds against an Olympian goddess."

Artemis turned to Zoë. "Set up camp here. Make sure that the demigods and the satyr from Camp Half-Blood are not harmed. Even by the Hunters." Zoë nodded and rushed off. Artemis turned back to Percy and placed a hand on his shoulder. They were both engulfed in silvery light as Artemis teleported them to Olympus.

They reappeared outside the throne room. Artemis grabbed Percy and pushed him roughly through the doors. Percy grinned a crooked smile humorlessly. _Don't need to try so hard, you know..._ he thought, amused.

The throne room gates opened loudly, announcing their presence. The other Olympian gods and goddesses regarded Percy—some out of curiosity, some out of suspicion, and some out of confusion. Percy glanced around the room. He could recognize Demeter, for she was a friend, Hestia, for the goddess was sitting by a hearth, which gave away her identity, Poseidon, for he was wearing a fisherman's clothing, and Athena, due to the owl sitting on her shoulder staring down at him menacingly. He could also recognize Zeus and Hera. The king of the gods smelled of ozone and his eyes flashed with lightning, while the queen of the gods gave away her identity through her throne which was decorated with peacocks. The others...Percy wasn't sure on who was who, and since he had no desire to get killed on the spot by a prideful god who couldn't handle one mistake (which happened to be most of them), he didn't bother to try and guess.

Artemis pushed Percy to the center of the room roughly. Out of the corner of his eye, Percy could see Demeter's furious expression. Percy smiled crookedly at her, sending her a silent message that he was fine. She seemed to calm down a little. Percy faced Zeus and stared at him with a blank face, silently challenging him. The king of the gods narrowed his eyes at him.

"Perseus Jackson," Zeus boomed, showing off his authority. The room fell silent. "Do you know who I am?"

"You are Zeus, the king of the gods," Percy answered. He tried hard not to insult the lightning god. After the god had ordered Artemis to take him to Olympus without his permission or a reason, Percy's hope for the king of the gods' intelligence was down in the negatives.

Zeus glared at him. "And should you not bow to the king of the gods and show your respect?"

Percy's eyes narrowed. "You sent Lady Artemis to capture me without even telling me your reasons to do so. I have no respect for a man or god who acts without reason. Also, you are a god." He turned to everyone else. "You all are gods. People look up to you. You are supposed to set an example for people to follow, and yet you do a terrible job of it. For millennia, you went around from town to town bedding the mortals and abandoning them afterwards to fend for themselves and their new children. And you want me to look upon you and show respect after the amount of suffering you cause others?" That last part was mostly aimed at Poseidon, but the god of the sea did not know this.

Zeus' eyes widened. His master bolt appeared in his hands and the godly weapon crackled with immense power. "How dare you show such disrespect to the gods?!" he thundered. "I should smite you where you stand!"

Percy's eyes narrowed. "That won't be very wise of you. If you kill me, my father will take revenge on you all." Of course, he was bluffing by now. He had absolutely no idea what Erebus would do. He honestly wasn't sure whether his father had enough power to do anything to help him. But then again, the gods didn't know this. Except Artemis.

Crap.

If she decided to speak up, which Percy assumed that she would, his entire bluff would be ruined.

Zeus glared at him, gripping his master bolt tightly. "And just who is your father?" he growled

"My father is Erebus." While Percy said this, he couldn't help but involuntarily glance at Poseidon.

Unfortunately, Athena noticed this. While the other gods gasped and immediately began to argue with each other, Athena stood up. The room gradually fell silent as the gods turned their attentions to what Athena was about to say. "If your father is Erebus, then why did you look at Poseidon?"

It was then that it all locked into place in Zeus' mind. The sea green eyes, the black hair, the resemblance to Poseidon... "POSEIDON! How dare you break your oath twice?! I should have killed that insolent boy of yours after he brought my bolt!"

"Yes, you should have," Percy muttered. Both Zeus and Poseidon stared at him. Percy looked up and looked at the two gods innocently. "What? He's an arrogant prick."

Zeus was tempted to chuckle, but then he remembered who the boy was in front of him. "How can we trust your word that you are the son of a Primordial? Are you a god?"

Percy raised and eyebrow and gestured with his hands. The Celestial Bronze chains fell to the floor. "I swear on the River Styx that my father is Erebus. And I am not a god. If I was, I would be at the bookstore getting the last Harry Potter novel."

Apollo grinned. "I like this kid."

Percy nodded. "Thank you, Lord..?"

"It's just Apollo." Apollo gestured dramatically. "God of healing, the sun, music, archery, and—"

"For the love of the gods, Apollo, shut up," Artemis snapped.

"Enough," Zeus commanded. He turned to Percy and regarded the son of Erebus coldly. "You are a very powerful demigod. Too powerful, in fact. Unless you swear loyalty to Olympus on the River Styx, I will smite you where you stand."

Percy scowled. "My loyalty is to my friends. I have no care for whether they are on your side or your enemy's side. And by the way, you are a lot more of a dick than the myths say you are."

Zeus' eyes widened. He bellowed in anger and hurled his master bolt at Percy. Percy quickly cast a barrier of darkness around himself and the attack deflected off of the barrier and shot in all directions, destroying the floor around Percy. The gods stared at him with shocked expressions, wondering how a demigod could block an attack from the master bolt itself.

Percy lowered his barrier, sneering. "By the way, my loyalty is to Olympus. But hear this, Zeus. I will never show respect to you." He turned to Poseidon. "And mark my words, sea god. You forced yourself onto my mother and I don't care if we are allies—you touch me, you so much as speak to me and I will kill even if I have to sacrifice my own life. The only reason why I haven't already is because scum like you aren't even worthy of death. Oh, and if you send your son after me, I will bring him to Olympus and rip off his head in front of you." Percy smiled humorlessly. "If only my father was Tartarus...I could kill you and pray to him to torture you for all eternity."

Poseidon's face reddened in anger. He was about to summon his trident and blast Percy, but Zeus interrupted. The king of the gods hated Percy, but he had to admit, having Percy as an ally was worth more than having the boy show respect to one god. "Artemis, take him back!" he ordered, not wanting to look at Percy's face any further.

Artemis nodded and got up. She walked over to Percy and placed a hand on his shoulder. They disappeared in a flash of silvery light.

* * *

The two reappeared at the Hunter's camp. The Hunters had set up their camping site at the cliff. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began to circle the camp, keeping watch for any threats. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid. Falcons watched over everyone from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight. The campers from Camp Half-Blood were at the edge of the camp. The dark haired girl was pacing back and forth, and the satyr was treating the spawn of Poseidon's wounds. The blond girl was next to him, holding his hand.

Zoë marched up to them, giving Percy a glare. Artemis nodded in greeting. She then faced Percy. "I must know...how were you able to deflect my father's master bolt and remain unharmed?"

Percy chuckled and winced in pain. "I didn't." Artemis waited for him to continue. "I was able to deflect most of the attack, but I can't possibly hope to block something that powerful and leave without a scratch." He lifted his shirt and revealed a burned and battered torso. Blood was dripping down from many cuts and some areas were completely black. Zoë noticed how he was very muscular and his abs and pectorals would have been very distracting, but his injury was so bad that his torso looked like a wolf had gone and torn his chest out. "But I'll heal. As the son of Erebus, the shadows have a healing effect on me, luckily. I would have died many times if not for the shadows healing me."

Artemis nodded. She gestured to Zoë. "I must attend to something. Zoë, please bring that son of Poseidon to my tent."

"Milady, what about him?" Zoë glared at Percy.

"He will attend as well."

Percy nodded. "Very well." Zoë walked away to get the spawn of Poseidon.

"Come, Percy." Percy followed Artemis to the last tent. The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Artemis sat down. Behind her, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others that Percy failed to recognize. The goddess had a deer with glittering gold fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap. "Sit down." She gestured to her right.

Percy sat down. He gestured to the shadows and they wrapped around his torso, slowly healing him. Just then, Zoë entered the tent and Orion followed her, strutting into the tent. Percy scoffed silently, and Zoë looked like she wanted nothing more than to stab Orion and rip his heart out.

"Join us, Orion Aboun," Artemis said. Orion sat down, glaring at Percy a little. "I would like to hear what the manticore said to you before Percy fought him."

"He said something about the General explaining things to me and he was talking about Great Stirring or something," Orion said. Percy saw Zoë stiffen. "Yeah. And then he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"

Artemis sat still. Percy wondered what the monster could be. Several monsters came into his mind, but none of them made any sense. He was sure that even the mortals would notice said monsters. "This monster...I must hunt it. If the enemy gets to it first, they may win the war."

"Do you know what the monster is, Lady Artemis?" Percy asked.

Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray that I am wrong. I will start the hunt tomorrow."

Zoë nodded. "We will leave at once, milady."

Artemis shook her head. "No, Zoë. You must take the Hunters and go to Camp Half-Blood. I will have my brother give you a ride."

Zoë shot up. "_What?_ But Artemis—"

"This is not a monster you can hunt, Zoë. It is too powerful."

Zoë sat down reluctantly.

"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in." She nodded to the others. "You may leave."

Percy immediately wrapped himself in darkness and shadow traveled to the edge of the cliff. He surrounded himself in the shadows and whistled. After a few seconds, a hellhound shot out of the darkness.

_My lord. _The hellhound bowed his head in respect. Percy nodded.

"Was anyone injured during your mission?"

_One, my lord. A young pup, but we are tending to him now._

Percy nodded approvingly. "Good job, Cethin. You may go."

Cethin bowed once more. He turned to leave. "Oh, wait a second. Could you also bring Gared here?"

_I will, my lord._ The hellhound ran off into the darkness. With a wave of his hand, Percy summoned his backpack from the shadows and leaned back against it, sighing comfortably.

* * *

Zoë was carrying a sleeping bag and was walking towards Percy, who was at the edge of the cliff. He had something in his arms, and it seemed to be moving. Zoë narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What do you have there, boy?" she asked, dropping the sleeping bag near him.

Suddenly, a small black mass leaped out of Percy's arms and rushed towards her. It was a black dog. The small dog latched onto Zoë's pant leg with its teeth and tugged on it, growling. Zoë's eyes widened and she reached for her bow, but a shadow tendril wrapped around her wrist, stopping her.

"No, don't!" Percy shouted, holding a hand out. "Gared, stop! Leave her alone!" The dog, Gared, let go of Zoë's pant leg and ran back to Percy, jumping back into his arms.

"That's a hellhound!" Zoë growled. She reached for her bow. "They're dangerous!"

Percy shook his head. "Not to me. As a son of Erebus, they obey my every command." Percy looked down at Gared, who was chewing his shirt. "Most of them, at least." He looked back up at Zoë. "So, what can I do for you?"

Zoë gestured to the sleeping bag. "Lady Artemis wanted me to give you this."

Percy glanced at the sleeping bag. "Um, I don't exactly need it though...but thanks."

Zoë hesitated, then sat down several feet away from Percy. "Why do you have a hellhound as a pet?"

Percy grinned. "Well, technically, all hellhounds are my pets, but I can see what you're talking about. Anyways, Gared here lost his parents two years ago. His parents had been killed by you. After I found out that I was the lord of the hellhounds, I started to take care of Gared. He's only a two year old pup, so if I set him loose, he probably will die, and I don't want that happening."

Zoë narrowed her eyes. "Hellhounds are dangerous monsters. That is why the Hunters hunt them."

Percy laughed humorlessly. "Really? I became the lord of the hellhounds two years ago, Huntress. Tell me. When was the last time a hellhound killed a demigod or even attacked one?"

Zoë hesitated. "Two years ago."

"And surely you noticed how the hellhounds now only kill animals and evil mortals for food?" Zoë nodded. "They used to be dangerous, but not anymore. So I'm asking you this: can you give them another chance?" Gared seemed to lose interest in ripping up Percy's shirt and walked away, sniffing the ground.

Zoë stiffened. "They killed many Hunters."

"And the Hunters have killed many of them. Let the conflict end, Huntress. Wouldn't it be better to have the hellhounds as an ally than as an enemy?"

Zoë thought about this. "Fine. We won't hunt the hellhounds anymore. And stop calling me 'Huntress.'"

Percy frowned. "Than what do I call you? You won't allow me to call you by your name, you won't let me call you by your rank, what do you want me to call you? She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"Just Zoë, boy."

Percy scowled. "Okay, if I call you Zoë, then you have to call me Percy or at least Perseus."

Zoë narrowed her eyes. "No."

"'Kay, Huntress."

Zoë growled in annoyance. Percy grinned at her cheekily. "So...deal?" Zoë nodded stiffly. "Jeez, loosen up, Zoë. You're like a flat wooden board, always so stiff."

Zoë scowled at Percy, but he just kept grinning. Soon, his expression turned serious. "Oh, and I wanted to ask you something."

"What, bo—Perseus?" Zoë said suspiciously.

"That man in golden armor who tried to kill you...do you know who he was?" Zoë shook her head. "Well, that's great. So you basically have an unknown assassin trying to turn you into a human barbecue?"

Zoë growled. "Don't press your luck,_ Perseus_."

Percy laughed. "Okay, moving on. You stiffened when that spawn of Poseidon was talking about the Gene—Gared!" Zoë jumped at Percy's sudden shout. He was glaring at the small hellhound, who had Percy's backpack in his small mouth. He stared at Percy with bright innocent looking red eyes. Zoë thought that the hellhound looked very cute, but she would never admit it out loud. "Deutschland!" Gared dropped the backpack and leaped back into Percy's arms. Percy stroked the hellhound's fur and grabbed his backpack, staring at it sadly. "I just got this..."

Zoë stared at Percy weirdly. "Why Deutschland? That's German for—"

"—Germany, I know," Percy finished, grinning. He shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. He just responds to that." Percy's expression turned serious. "Okay, so you stiffened when that spawn of Poseidon was talking about the General—whoever he is. Do you know who the General is?"

Zoë didn't answer. Percy shrugged. "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't press."

The two were silent for a while. Zoë stared at the hellhound, watching the pup's eyes droop as Percy stroked him. Percy noticed that Zoë wasn't taking her eyes off of Gared. He held out the half-asleep hellhound towards Zoë, who instinctively reached for her bow, but stopped herself. "You want to try and pet him? It's not that bad. He won't bite. He might lick you a little, but don't worry about it. That just means he likes you.

Zoë hesitated. She took the hellhound from Percy's arms tentatively and stroked the pup's fur. Gared licked Zoë's hand a little, curled up in her arms, and promptly went to sleep. Zoë looked at Percy, asking him a silent question on what to do, but he just chuckled and laid back, closing his eyes and placing his hands behind his head. He began to snore softly. She stared at him for a while, unsure on what to do. She reached out and shook him rather violently. He didn't get up or even show any reaction. Zoë shook him even more violently. Still no reaction. She even slapped him once. No reaction. Zoë growled and placed Gared on Percy's chest. She then stomped away, furious at the demigod.

Without opening his eyes, Percy grinned and chuckled a little, ignoring the stinging sensation on the right side of his face.

* * *

**Points for whoever figures out why Orion's last name is Aboun (hint: word roots).**

**Anyone recognize the little Easter Egg that I placed?**


	3. The Winter Prophecy

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

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***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

At the crack of dawn, the Hunters packed up their camp and waited for Apollo to arrive. The demigods and satyr from Camp Half-Blood—including Orion, who had fully healed (unfortunately)—were standing a few yards away from the Hunters. Zoë noticed after a while that Percy and his dog Gared weren't anywhere to be seen.

"Where is Percy?" Artemis asked, frowning in confusion.

"The coward probably ran off." Orion sneered and the Hunters glared at him. Some reached for their bows, but Artemis stopped them.

"Shut up, Orion," the black haired demigod snapped. "Annabeth, tell your boyfriend to shut his mouth."

Orion glowered at the girl. "Shut up, Thalia. You know it's true that he's a useless brat."

Zoë scowled. She was about to snap at the son of Poseidon, but the shadows rippled. A fist made out of darkness shot out of the shadows and punched Orion in the face, sending him to the ground. He groaned in pain. Zoë heard a scoff. She looked to her right and saw Percy holding his backpack in one hand. Gared was inside the backpack and had his head sticking out. His tongue was out and he looked half asleep. Zoë scowled. That dog was going to be the death of her.

Percy walked up to Orion and kicked him over. He took out Anaklusmos and held it to the son of Poseidon's neck. Zoë stared at the sword with wide eyes, not believing her eyes. It couldn't be... "I beat you once before, and looks like I've done it again, kid," Percy growled. "If you're that eager to get yourself killed, I'll throw you into the air and let Zeus do it for me." He stepped back and placed Riptide in his pocket. Zoë scowled and made a mental note to ask Percy about that later.

"What's the matter, coward?" Orion panted. "Too weak to finish the job?"

Percy smirked. He shook his head. "My hands are already filthy from touching you. I shudder at what would happen if your filthy blood touched them. I'm sorry if you're easily butthurt whenever someone steals your show—which doesn't even exist, by the way—but you're not worth killing. Death for scum like you would only be a blessing."

Orion growled and drew his sword. "Fight me, coward!" The blond girl next to him looked like she wanted to intervene, but Orion glared at her and she backed off, looking away. She absentmindedly placed a hand on her other arm. Zoë narrowed her eyes. Something was off about that girl.

Percy grinned. He tilted his head and whistled. A massive hellhound suddenly shot out of the shadows and landed in front of Percy. Everyone except Percy, Zoë, and Artemis drew their weapons. "Stop!" Zoë shouted. The Hunters reluctantly put their bows away. The demigods and satyr watched the hellhound warily but didn't attack.

"Hiding behind a monster?" Orion sneered. Percy smirked and snapped his fingers. The hellhound growled and roared, revealing a large set of massive bloody teeth. The sound threatened to shatter everyone's eardrums and some covered their ears in pain. Zoë saw Artemis even wince a little. Percy, on the other hand, seemed calm and unaffected by the sound. Orion screamed like a little girl and dropped his sword in fear.

"Cethin, that's enough," Percy said calmly. The hellhound stopped roaring and bowed to him before jumping back into the shadows.

Percy approached Orion, who was white as a sheet and standing like a statue, still in shock. "I guess I win," Percy said casually. He looked up. "Oh, look, it's Apollo's chariot."

The sound of an engine overhead broke everyone away from the scene in front of them. A sleek Maserati Spyder slowly descended from the sky above. Percy backed up to the edge of the forest to wait for Apollo to land his sun chariot. Gared barked excitedly and Percy patted his head gently, quieting him.

After the chariot parked, Apollo stepped out of his sun chariot and flashed a huge blinding grin at Artemis and the Hunters, "Need a ride, ladies?" He asked flirtatiously.

"Shut up, Apollo," Artemis growled. "You know the rules. You are not allowed to flirt, talk, or even look at my Hunters. You are to bring them to Camp Half Blood along with the three demigods and satyr and _leave them alone_."

Apollo rolled his eyes and raised his hands in surrender. "Relax little sis, I was only kidding. Now where is Percy? I was looking forward to seeing my new favorite demigod again."

Percy stepped away from the edge of the forest. He nodded politely. "Apollo."

Apollo grinned. "There you are! Hey, Perce, you should be careful. Zeus isn't all that happy about you disrespecting him."

"That's not important to me."

Apollo grinned and pressed a button on his chariot keys, transforming the sun chariot into a school bus. "All aboard ladies, demigods, satyr, and of course, Percy."

The Hunters filed onto the bus after looking distastefully at Apollo, who just grinned. The demigods and the satyr followed the Hunters as Percy brought up the rear, grabbing a seat in the front away from everyone else. He let Gared out and held the dog in his arms, stroking the pup's head.

"Zoë, a moment please," Artemis called. Zoë walked up to her and looked at her questioningly. "When I looked into Percy's mind, I found that what he said was true. He is the son of Erebus, and from what I've seen, Erebus loves him very much and will do anything for him. He even threatened to kill Poseidon, who raped Percy's mother. The only reason why Poseidon isn't dead right now is because Percy's mother stopped Erebus from carrying out the act. You have seen that Percy is very powerful. I do not think that it would be wise to do anything to invoke his father's wrath."**  
**

Zoë frowned. "Milady, where are you going with this?"

"When Percy was distracted, I looked into his mind again and found that because of his aura, his mother had to marry a vile man to keep him safe. That man tortured him and his mother daily and eventually killed his mother. That is how Percy got the scar on his face and—" Artemis shook her head. "The rest, I cannot tell. That is Percy's story to tell, not mine. Anyways, as I went through his memories, I found something quite peculiar." Artemis smiled at Zoë. "Do you remember when we suddenly got many new recruits?"

Zoë nodded. "Yes, milady. Seven joined last year."

"It turns out that Percy was the one who sent them. He called upon the hellhounds to kill the men torturing the girls and sent them to bring the girls to where we had been camping." Zoë's eyes widened. "He has suffered things that most people never witness in their lives, and yet he manages to do such a noble thing. I am not saying that you have to be his friend, but I want you and the Hunters to show him respect. He deserves that much."

Artemis stifled a chuckle at her lieutenant's look of shock, "Relax, Zoë. I have not changed my views of males, but I believe we owe him a bit of a debt after what he did for us. He has experienced more horrifying things at the hands of a man than any huntress I have ever had _and_ he went through all of that before he even turned eight. He might be the one man who would never hurt a woman no matter what. For those reasons, he deserves to be treated with some respect from the Hunters. I expect you to tell the others."

Zoë frowned but nodded. "Yes, milady."

Artemis smiled. She placed a hand on Zoë's shoulder. "It will be fine, Zoë. Just stay alert and use your wits and instincts. I will be back after a while. Good luck."

"Good luck, milady." Artemis ran off into the woods.

Zoë reluctantly boarded the bus. As she went to sit down, she saw Percy stroking Gared's who shot up and stared at her curiously with wide eyes, as if wondering whether she would come and pet him. Gared started to bark. "Gared, no. Deutschland." Gared quieted down and kept staring at Zoë as she walked towards the other Hunters.

Apollo faced everyone and held up his keys. He grinned. "So...who wants to drive?"

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Apollo tried to get to Thalia, who was driving, but she kept tossing him around the bus along with everyone else like a rag doll. Percy was the only one who was actually seated because he had controlled the shadows to lock his arms and legs in place. His backpack was in his arms and Gared was hiding in it, whimpering. "It's all good, she only needs to—WOAH!" The lake in Camp Half-Blood was approaching quickly.

Percy growled and ran up to Thalia. "Brake! NOW!"

Thalia obeyed and slammed the brakes, halting the chariot in mid air almost instantly. Unfortunately, everyone else kept moving forward. Thalia slammed into the wheel and groaned, while the Hunters, Annabeth, Orion, and the satyr flew forward and tumbled to the floor and seats. Zoë groaned and a backpack dropped onto her chest. Gared poked his head out and licked Zoë's face. Zoë chuckled a little and froze. Where was Percy? She had heard the sound of glass shattering when Thalia had slammed the brakes...She looked at the broken windshield and had to hold back a laugh.

Percy had smashed right through the glass and shot into the lake at full speed.

Apollo took over and landed the bus quickly. Everyone tumbled out of the bus and got their things. Zoë held onto Percy's backpack, wondering where he was. Surely he wasn't dead.

Apollo had a quick conversation with Chiron and then left, telling Thalia that he had faith that she would get better at driving.

Suddenly, Gared poked his head out, sniffing. He tried to crawl out of the bag, but he was stuck. Zoë frowned and set the backpack on the ground. She picked Gared up and set him down. He quickly ran into the shadows and Zoë heard a surprised yell. "Gared! Deutschland! Stop! Gah!" Gared walked back to Zoë and held out a piece of black clothing. It was from Percy's hoodie. Zoë took it hesitantly. She looked up and saw Percy stumbling towards them with his hood up. "Hey, thanks for watching him," he panted, taking his backpack. "And next time...I think maybe someone else should drive." He whistled and got down on one knee. Gared ran towards Percy excitedly and climbed onto his head, clinging onto the hood.

"Campers!" Chiron called to get their attention. "Gather round! This is Perseus Jackson, son of Lord Erebus, the Primordial god of Darkness and Mists." The campers immediately began to shout out questions and Chiron raised his hand to quiet them. "He will be joining us here at camp." The campers stared at him.

Percy waved his hand in greeting and Gared barked excitedly. Percy grinned up at him. "Quiet, you. We'll play fetch later." Although Percy knew that Gared could understand him, he knew that Gared wouldn't care. The baby hellhound loved to do whatever he wanted.

"Are you a god?" a camper asked.

Percy shook his head. "Demigod," he answered.

"How can we trust you? Maybe you're a spy for Castellan and the Titans!" a son of Ares yelled. Several others yelled in agreement. Chiron was about to silence them, but Percy held out a hand, stopping him.

"If I was on the Titans' side, I wouldn't bother being a spy," Percy said. "I would just tell my hellhounds to kill you all."

Annabeth stepped forward. "You have several pet hellhounds?"

Percy chuckled. "I command _all_ hellhounds, girl," he laughed. "As a son of Erebus, I am the lord of the hellhounds, including Cerberus, although I don't like using him for battle, because whenever I do, Hades throws a fit."

"Yeah?" Orion said, sneering. "Prove it. I bet you can't summon an army of hellhounds!"

Percy grinned evilly, and everyone felt a shiver go down their spines—even Zoë. He took a deep breath. "Cover your ears." Everyone did so. Percy opened his mouth and let out a demonic cry.** _"__SCREECH!"_** Everyone stared in shock at Percy, who was breathing heavily.

"What the hell was that?" Orion yelled. Percy grinned and pointed at the shadows. The campers and Hunters looked and gasped. There were hundreds of glowing red eyes staring at them from the shadows.

"What was that? 'I bet you can't summon an army of hellhounds?'" Percy mocked. Everyone was silent, for they were afraid of offending the son of Erebus. Percy smirked and snapped his fingers. The hellhounds disappeared into the shadows. "Anyone else want to say something?"

Silence. "Well..." Chiron began. "Thank you for that demonstration, although it may have been a bit overkill. Moving on...I am sure that the Hermes Cabin will be happy to accept you."

Percy shook his head. "There is no need. I don't need a cabin." He frowned. "Actually, did two demigods arrive? Their names are Nico and Bianca."

Chiron nodded. "They are unpacking now."

Percy nodded and turned to the campers. "Nico and Bianca are under my protection. Harm them, and I will show you what it means to be insane." With that, he walked away, heading towards the forest to cool off and heal the injuries he had received from Thalia's terrible driving skills.

* * *

Percy was walking around the cabins with Gared on top of his head when he heard shouts coming from the Hermes Cabin. Mildly interested, he walked towards the direction from where the noise was coming from.

Nico and Bianca were being pushed around by Orion and his minions. The Hunters and Zoë were watching in disgust. A group of campers were gathered around as well, watching the scene. As Zoë watched with a scowl on her face, she felt something tug on her pant leg. She looked down and saw Gared looking at her with innocent wide eyes. Zoë knelt and Gared jumped into her arms and licked her face. The Hunters stared at the dog weirdly and stared at Zoë, as if expecting her to do something about the dog. Zoë smirked. If Gared was here, then that meant that Percy was around.

Suddenly, the sky dimmed. The clouds turned black and a massive dark fog rolled in out of nowhere. When the fog touched the campers and Hunters, they felt a massive amount of fear and they felt very cold. The shadows rippled and shifted uneasily. Just then, tendrils made out of shadows shot out and grabbed the demigods bullying Nico and Bianca except Orion. The shadows then threw the demigods into the lake. Zoë saw Percy walk up to the campers and Hunters calmly. Gared jumped out of Zoë's arms and jumped into Percy's arms. The pup then climbed to his spot on Percy's head. "Cethin!" Percy yelled. His eyes were completely black and they glowed eerily.

The campers were expecting something to happen, but nothing happened. Orion got up and drew his sword. "You're protecting the spawns of Hades!" he shouted.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"They are worthless scum!" Percy's eyes narrowed at this, but he didn't speak. Orion laughed. "What's the matter? You sad? I'm sorry if you can't handle the cold truth!" Just then, a massive hellhound leaped out of the shadows and slammed into Orion, pinning him to the ground. The hellhound roared and Orion shrieked in terror. The hellhound got off and bowed to Percy. "T-t-t-t-t-that t-t-thing j-j-just n-n-n-nearly a-a-a-a-a-ate m-m-m-m-me!" Orion screamed.

Percy grinned at him. "Do you want him to eat you? If you don't, then start running, sea spawn." Orion scurried away without another word. The sky brightened again and everything returned to normal, but the tension remained.

Percy patted the large hellhound's head. "Nice roar, Cethin. I think he pissed his pants right then." The hellhound bowed. He then ran into the shadows. Percy turned to Nico and Bianca. "Are you two alright?"

"W-who are you?" Bianca asked, moving in front of Nico protectively.

Percy smiled gently. "Your father sent me to rescue you two from Westover Hall. Now that you're here, I'm guessing that your father will want me to protect you. You don't have to be afraid of me."

Nico was jumping excitedly. "How did you do that? Aren't hellhounds evil? How did you control that big hellhound and stuff?"

Percy chuckled. "I'm the son of Erebus. I command all hellhounds, kid."

"Does that mean you control the dead as well?"

Percy frowned. "No...that's your father's thing. Maybe he passed that ability down to you. I'm guessing he did. Wouldn't be a child of the Underworld without being able to summon the dead. I can't really explain what you two can do. I have a friend I can ask other than your father, but he's busy at the moment, so I'm going to have to ask later. Anyways, we'll talk later. First..." Percy turned and glared at the campers. Zoë and the Hunters had to hold back laughs. He looked absolutely ridiculous; threatening the campers with a glare while having a pup sitting on his head. "Like I said, they are under my protection. That sea spawn and his followers were lucky. Anyone else who strikes will suffer a fate much worse. I swear on the River Styx. I didn't come here to quarrel with you all, but I will not hesitate to do so if it is needed to protect my friends." Thunder boomed above and Percy marched away.

* * *

"Hey, Zoë," Percy called. Zoë turned, strapping her lightweight armor on. It was time for capture the flag. The Hunters were excited and at the same time, they weren't looking forward to playing. They didn't see why they had to play the campers every time they came to Camp Half-Blood. It was obvious who was going to win every time.

"Hello, Perseus?" Zoë finished putting on her armor and she grabbed her bow. "What is it? Should you not be on the other side for the game?"

Percy laughed nervously. He was dressed in a strange armor that Zoë had never seen before. It covered his entire body with intersecting black plates that moved fluidly, restricting no movement at all. Zoë noticed that Gared was wearing a large black helmet that was much to big for him. Percy grabbed his helmet from Gared and held it under his arm. "Yeah...about that...I was wondering if Bianca, Nico, and I could join your team?"

Zoë's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?" she demanded.

"Well, I really don't like the campers, and Chiron is forcing us to play, so I might as well play with a team that I actually like and respect." Percy shrugged.

Zoë glared at him. She remembered what Artemis had said. "Fine," she growled.

Percy grinned. "Thanks, Zoë. It means a lot to me. If you want, you can just send us as cannon fodder if you don't like us."

Zoë rolled her eyes and walked away, shaking her head. "Come on, then. We're going to have to change the strategy and put you three in it."

"Actually, just me," Percy said, catching up with her. "Nico and Bianca are just there for the ride. They're inexperienced, and I want to be able to keep an eye on them so that they won't get hurt."

"I highly doubt that they will be hurt after your little demonstration," Zoë scoffed.

Percy chuckled. "Still, I'd rather not risk it. Anyways, your answer is yes, right?" Zoë nodded. "Great! I'll go get Bianca and Nico. You can alter your strategy and fill me in when I get back." He vanished in the shadows.

Zoë walked up to the other Hunters. "Perseus Jackson and the children of Hades will be joining our team," she announced. The Hunters immediately started to protest, but Zoë held up her hand and they quieted. Every Hunter knew that Zoë had spent millennia by Artemis' side and in their eyes, she had just as much authority as the goddess herself. "I know that you all don't want to work with him, but Lady Artemis has told me that he is to be respected. Now, I am not saying that you have to be friends with him. I'm saying that you need to show him respect. I trust milady's word on this, and I expect you all to do the same." The Hunters muttered angrily, but nobody protested. "Now, we will alter the strategy. Instead of just me rushing and you all distracting the campers, Perseus and the children of Hades will rush from one direction, and I will rush from the other."

"I hope it won't end up as a race," Percy's voice said. The Hunters whirled around and aimed their arrows at Percy's chest, who held up his hands. Nico and Bianca were beside him. "Hey, Zoë, if you really didn't want me on your team, you could have said something, you know. If it bothers you, I'll leave."

"Girls, put down your bows," Zoë ordered. The Hunters reluctantly put their bows down. She turned to Percy. "I assume you know the strategy?"

Percy nodded. "Alright, good." Zoë gripped her bow tightly. "Is everyone ready?" The Hunters, Percy, Bianca, and Nico nodded. The conch shell sounded. "Go!" The Hunters rushed off.

"I'll go first and draw their attention with a charge. You can take the flag and win. It's your team anyways." Percy gestured to Nico and Bianca and they ran off.

Zoë stared at them go in surprise. Never before had she met a man who had no care for winning and who would gladly give the win away to someone else. She smiled a little and ran off, impressed at the son of Erebus.

Zoë found that there were almost no campers trying to block her and that the ones who were did not prove to be that much of a challenge. She raced towards the enemy flag, focused solely on winning.

Percy, on the other hand, was focused solely on messing around with the campers. He grinned as he ran. It was a while since he had last had this much fun. Although Percy wanted to move quickly, he made sure to stay at a pace that Bianca and Nico could keep up with.

"Come on, guys, let's have some fun!" Percy said cheerfully. Suddenly, a sword arched towards Nico's head. "Woah there, Nic!" He pushed Nico's head down and the plume of Nico's helmet got sheared off. Percy quickly knocked the camper out. Another sword jabbed at Bianca. "Woah, that's a sword, that's a sword!" Percy pulled Bianca out of the way and with a flick of his wrist, sent the sword to the ground. Percy then swung the flat of his blade against the attacker's helmet, knocking him out.

Suddenly, two demigods came down from the trees and one somersaulted over a tree stump. Percy laughed. "Sons of Ares," he said to the children of Hades. "Watch the blades." The Ares campers approached them slowly. Percy grinned. "Go!"

The Ares campers lunged and one stabbed at Nico, but Percy blocked and quickly moved to protect Bianca. The son of Ares growled and lunged at Nico, who yelped and ducked. He backed away and the son of Ares followed.

Percy quickly knocked out an Ares camper and saw Bianca do the same. "Nice." He grinned. He turned and saw Nico holding off the last Ares camper. He seemed to be on the losing side. "Whoo, oh boy." Percy rushed towards the two. "I'm comin' buddy, I'm comin'." Percy quickly blocked a blow and knocked the last Ares camper out. He turned to the siblings and grinned widely. "You two are pretty good fighters! Did you ever take lessons before?"

Bianca shook her head. "No, we haven't."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed. You two are naturals at fighting. Maybe after a little while you'll beat me."

Just then, the conch shell blew. Percy grinned and tilted his head. "Let's go." The three went into the shadows and teleported to the creek.

Zoë gulped. The mummified Oracle of Delphi was right in front of her, staring at her. The Oracle then opened her mouth and spoke.

"_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

_The Bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's Curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall perish by a parent's hand."_

Zoë paled. She swore in her head. She knew that sooner or later, this day would come. Her past would catch up to her, no matter how much she ran. She would be the one to die, she knew it. She had always been fated to die.

For her fate was cursed.

* * *

**Hence the name Cursed Fate!**

**Just kidding, haha...maybe. Read and find out.**

**Anyways, that was the third chapter, and currently, I plan to take this story at least through the Titan War, maybe through the Giant War. We'll see. Anyways, I expect your many reviews. Also, suggestions for the story are welcome.**


	4. The General Appears

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

**Read/Fav/Follow/Review/Enjoy!**

**If you like the the story, why not share it with others? Spread the word!**

***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

"Quiet, please! Let's discuss this with some order!" Chiron's attempts were futile. The campers were too excited to listen to him. He stomped on the floor, and the campers slowly quieted. The counselors of each cabin were seated around the Ping Pong table, along with Zoë and Phoebe. "The prophecy was quite clear with its words. The quest is Zoë's and she will be the one to lead it. She will take four companions with her, campers and Hunters."

"All Olympians except Lady Artemis are accounted for. It is clear that she is the one missing, and we must rescue her immediately! We Hunters are far more capable of finding milady on our own. Having campers will only slow us down," Zoë said angrily, not wanting to be at this meeting. She glanced around and failed to find Percy. She felt a pang of jealousy. How come Percy didn't have to come and she did?

"You're forgetting something, as usual. 'Campers and Hunters combined prevail,'" Thalia retorted. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but you know prophecies, Zoë. You want to fight against one?"

Zoë grimaced, knowing that Thalia was right. Fighting against fate is a fool's gambit. "Very well," she growled. "I will take Phoebe with me. Which campers will go?"

"I'll go," Thalia said, standing up. She glared at the others, daring them to protest.

"I'll go as well," Annabeth said, standing up. Nobody—out of fear for the daughter of Athena—dared argue.

Zoë nodded. "And for the fifth quest member?"

"I'll go, pretty one." Orion stood up. Zoë scowled at what Orion called her and resisted the urge to put a knife between his eyes.

Zoë scoffed. "I think not, _boy_."

Orion's eyes narrowed, "I've led every quest since I came to camp. I rescued Zeus' master bolt and the Golden Fleece from Polyphemus. You need me on this quest."

Zoë's eyes narrowed. "No, I don't," she growled. The boy's arrogance was annoying her to no end. Suddenly, an idea hit her and she turned to Chiron. "I will take Perseus if he is willing to come." Everyone stared at her in shock. "He is a powerful fighter and may prove useful to the quest."

"Zoë, he is a male! I will not go on a quest with him!" Phoebe protested angrily.

Zoë silenced her with a short glare. "Lady Artemis says that he is to be respected. I believe I told you this before. You don't have to be friends with him, just show respect to him." Phoebe looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn't.

Orion scoffed. "That nutjob will get you killed. He's probably already working with the Titans and will betray you on your quest. And besides, I'm the better warrior!" Zoë's hands were itching to kill him, but she saw Chiron looking at her sternly. While she hated the campers, she had respected the centaur and she let go of her knives.

"Last time I checked, he beat you up with a flick of his wrist," Thalia retorted. "And he wasn't even armed, while you were."

"He cheated and used powers!" Orion yelled. "It wasn't fair!"

Dionysus sighed, flipping a page in his magazine. "Life isn't fair, Oreo. Perseus won. Huzzah. Nobody cares." Even though Dionysus was known for purposely messing up peoples' names, Zoë noticed how he called Percy by his real name. She wondered what he had done to earn Dionysus' respect. It was either Dionysus favored him, or that the god was just afraid of him. The latter seemed more likely.

Zoë turned to Chiron. "That is all." She turned to Thalia and Annabeth. "We will leave tomorrow morning and seven o'clock. Don't be late." She and Phoebe left the Big House. Zoë turned to Phoebe. "You go ahead. I'll go tell see if Perseus will agree to come with us." Phoebe scowled, as if suspicious that Percy would kidnap Zoë or something.

"Alright." Phoebe walked away. Zoë marched off, looking for Percy.

* * *

It didn't take too long to find Percy. Zoë found him sitting down with an arm behind his head, leaning against a tree. He was holding a large book in front of him, smiling a little as he read the last book of the Harry Potter series. Gared was in front of him. The hellhound pup had his head in a brown paper bag and was wagging his tail in delight as he feasted on what was supposed to be Percy's dinner. Gared poked his head out and stared at Zoë curiously. He tilted his head and a piece of lettuce from the cheeseburger he was eating fell to the ground. He licked his nose and poked his head back into Percy's bag.

Zoë smiled a little at Gared's cute actions. She turned to Percy. "Perseus?"

Percy lifted his head from his book with a frown on his face. He smiled when he saw that it was Zoë. "Hey, Zoë." He turned back to his book. "I'm guessing you discussed the prophecy with the others?"

Zoë nodded. "The quest members are Annabeth, Thalia, a Hunter named Phoebe, and me."

Percy looked back up, frowning in confusion. "I thought the prophecy said that there were to be five quest members."

"It did." Zoë hesitated. "I was—We were wondering whether you would join the quest as the fifth member."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I thought you hated men and you know, me. And even if you don't, the other Hunter, Phoebe, probably does."

Zoë walked closer. Gared poked his head out and stared at her. She knelt and stroked the dog's head. Gared went closer to her, cuddling against her body. "Lady Artemis has ordered that you are to be respected. She says that you've been through many hardships in life and that you would be the last person to hurt a woman."

Percy laughed humorlessly. "Yes. She must have had a lot of fun looking into my mind when she thought I wasn't paying attention." He turned and glared at the dark horizon. "And you'd think that she'd at least ask."

Zoë's eyes narrowed. She wanted to retort, but she realized that Percy had the right to be angry. It was one thing to have someone invade another person's home and steal their most valuable possessions. It was worse to go into someone's mind, where one could see all of that person's secrets.

Zoë sighed. "Will you go?"

Percy folded the corner of his page and closed his book, placing it in his backpack. "I'll go. When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning, seven o'clock sharp."

Percy nodded. "Well, I better eat my dinner then. I'm guessing I'll need all the energy I can get for tomorrow." He reached for his brown paper bag which was at his side, but he only grabbed air. Percy frowned and looked down to his side, not noticing the Gared had stolen the bag and was eating the food within. Zoë held back a laugh at Percy's obliviousness. "Where the—?" Percy looked up and finally noticed the paper bag. His face fell. "Are you serious, Gared?" He groaned and leaned his head back against the tree, silently muttering curses.

Zoë finally laughed. "You should have kept an eye on your dinner if it was that important to you."

Percy ran his hand through his hair. He whistled and Gared ran back to him and climbed onto his lap. The hellhound yawned and curled up. The pup promptly fell asleep. Percy stroked the hellhound gently. He turned to Zoë. "I'll there at seven. Good night Zoë."

Zoë nodded. "Good night." She began to walk away.

As she left, Zoë heard Percy speaking. "You little rascal..." Percy didn't sound that angry and instead sounded more amused. "Always so damn hungry..."

Zoë held back a laugh and kept walking towards her cabin, a smile now playing on her lips.

* * *

Percy sat in the very back of the van as he and the girls traveled out of New York and onto the interstate heading south. His eyes were closed as thoughts raced through his mind. He had to admit, he was a little amused. Going on a quest to save a man hating goddess who had somehow managed to get captured wouldn't be the strangest thing he had ever done before, but it was pretty high up in that list.

Hoping to kill some time, he went to sleep. Instantly, he was pulled into a dream.

He was standing in a dark throne room. The only source of light was from black hellfire on either side of the throne room. Not the best light source, but being the son of Erebus, Percy could see perfectly fine in the darkness. He saw two massive thrones as black as night. Swirls of darkness rippled across the surfaces of the thrones. Percy reached for Riptide, but it wasn't in his pocket. He willed the shadows to form his sword Shade, but nothing happened. Percy was powerless in this room.

Suddenly, the air in front of him materialized and shadows warped and shifted. Two massive figures formed on the thrones. Percy's eyes widened when he saw that it was his father and a woman next to him. Percy instantly knew that the woman was Nyx, the Primordial of Night, sister and wife of Erebus. Percy quickly bowed to both Primordials. "Father. Lady Nyx."

Nyx stared at him in curiosity. "So this is the demigod child of my husband. The product of his unfaithfulness." Percy shifted uneasily and he saw Erebus do the same. "And yet you seem to take after Poseidon." Percy made to explain, but Nyx held up her hand, stopping him. "There is no need to explain. I already know what the sea god did to your mother."

Percy stared at her. "Are...have you summoned me here to kill me?" Percy's voice was no more than a squeak. He had gotten used to Erebus' godly aura, but Nyx's was basically identical to his father's: powerful, overwhelming, dark and really, really, really hard to get used to.

Nyx laughed. "No. I simply wanted to see up close what my stepson looked like." She smiled. "I can now see a bit of your father in your face and your personality. You two have that same expression when you are frightened out of your wits." Erebus and Percy glanced at each other. Percy glared at his father playfully and Erebus smiled innocently. "Still, I am not the reason why you are here. Erebus?"

Erebus stood. "You have met Zoë Nightshade, yes?" Percy nodded. "There are many things that Zoë has kept about her past to herself, and with good reason. Do not blame her for doing so. She has been through a lot, just as how you have."

Percy frowned in confusion. "Uh...where are you going with this?"

Erebus' expression turned serious. "I brought you here to inform you that I will now put you in a different dream. You will learn something important in this dream. Prepare yourself, my son." Erebus raised a hand and Percy found himself getting pulled into a different dream, before he could prepare._ Yeah, thanks dad..._Percy thought sarcastically. _I'm so prepared..._

_**You are most welcome, my son.**_ Erebus said back in Percy's mind.

_Wait, how did—when did—what?!_

_**Here comes the dream. You will wake up after this dream. Good luck on your quest, my son. And do not trust that daughter of Zeus, Thalia.**_

_What? Why?_

_**She is a loose cannon. Her fatal flaw is power, just like how yours is loyalty. She is risky. If she is offered power by the Titans, she will betray you. Do not trust her.**_

_Uh, okay. I won't._ Erebus withdrew from Percy's mind and Percy entered the new dream.

This time, it didn't seem like he was the focus of the dream. He was more like a spectator watching somebody else's memories. He saw a large buff man wearing an old style Greek tunic with a lion's pelt draped over his back like a cape. He was being led by the hand by a girl with dark flowing black hair as they ran through a beautiful garden that had glowing flowers. It smelled absolutely wonderful, like Persephone's garden in the Underworld. It was nighttime and millions of stars littered the sky. Percy couldn't help but smile in awe. He had never seen this many stars in the night sky before and he had always wanted to. The young girl dragged the man behind her, leading him somewhere.

"There is no need to run," the man told her. His voice was deep and guttural. "I have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands. The monster Ladon will stand no chance against me." Percy rolled his eyes. This man was too arrogant for his taste. What kind of idiot would think that he or she could go and challenge Ladon, the most powerful monster ever born from Typhon and Echidna?

"Not this one, Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain to my father. It is the only way." The girl sounded genuinely concerned, like she cared deeply for the man. Percy rolled his eyes. She was probably some clingy slut. If he had his way, Percy would send the man to his death gladly.

"I don't trust your father," the man said warily.

"You should not, for he is cruel and cunning. You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the prize directly. You will die. Ladon will rip you apart on sight," She told him seriously.

The man chuckled. "Then why don't you help me, pretty one?" Percy was now barely paying attention to the two, wondering when the important information that his father said that he would receive would finally come.

"I...I am afraid. Ladon will stop and hurt me. My sisters and father...if they found out that I betrayed them…they would disown me," the girl said worriedly.

"Then there is nothing for it." The man cracked his knuckles and got ready to walk away from the girl to engage Ladon in battle.

"Wait!" she cried.

The girl seemed torn about a decision, like she wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. Percy watched her fingers tremble as she reached up and plucked a long hair clip from her hair. Percy's eyes widened when he saw that it was the same pin that Riptide was. Then he snorted. There was no way that the girl's hair clip could be Riptide.

"If you must fight, take this. It was given to me by my mother Pleione. She was a daughter of the ocean, a sea goddess. The power of the ocean is inside it. My immortal power." She breathed on it, causing it to glow faintly. "Take it. Make of it a weapon."

The man laughed. "A hairpin. How will this slay Ladon, pretty one?"

"It may not, but it is all I can offer if you insist on being stubborn," the girl said sadly.

The girl's voice sounded familiar. Percy was sure he had heard it before, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

When she handed him the hair pin, the girl's hair clip grew longer until in the man's hand was a gleaming bronze sword. Percy's eyes bulged out of his skull as he recognized the sword. It was Riptide.

"It is well-balanced," the man said, impressed. "Although I prefer to fight with my bare hands...very well. What shall I name this blade?"

"Anaklusmos," the girl said sadly. "The current that takes one by surprise, and before you know it, you have been swept out to sea." Percy couldn't help but curse. He had been chasing a monster once and had Riptide out. The monster had gone into the sea and Percy followed. Before he knew it, he had gotten trapped in an actual riptide and got swept out to sea, ironically.

As the man was about to reply, the sound of something very large was heard approaching them. When Percy looked up, he saw a monster he never wished to see in person. Ladon, guardian of the Golden Apples of Immortality, was standing before him and the two strangers. Although Percy was just in a dream, he gulped in fear.

Percy watched as the man bested the world's deadliest monster and retrieve a golden apple. When he was done, he walked right by the girl as if he didn't even know her, smirking triumphantly. Percy looked more closely at the girl and his jaw dropped in shock. It was none other than Zoë Nightshade. Percy suddenly felt like stabbing himself on the spot. Although Zoë didn't know that Percy had mistook her for some random slut, Percy still felt like a no-brained idiot. He smacked his head in anger and shame.

"Wait!" Percy looked up. Zoë was pulling on the man's arm desperately. "You must take me with you! I have nowhere else to go!"

The man turned around and chuckled. Percy immediately clenched his fists. It was Heracles, the Neanderthal of the Greek gods. "And why should I? You were nothing more than a pawn for me to use. I don't have to take you anywhere, pretty one."

"You have to!" Zoë tugged on Heracles' arm harder. "Please!"

Heracles growled and smacked her. She fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Percy instantly got into a fighting stance, but then he remembered that this was a dream. There was nothing that he could do. He growled and watched painfully, wishing that he had brought a lot more pain to Heracles when he had fought the minor god.

"I don't have to do anything you say, girl," Heracles spat. "You're nothing but a woman. A girl who now has no family and home." He smiled. "Perhaps...actually, you can be of some use to me." He pinned Zoë down and grabbed her clothes, trying to tear them off. Zoë screamed and struggled violently, but she was no match for the son of Zeus in terms of strength. Percy growled and lunged for Heracles' neck, temporarily forgetting that he was invisible and in a dream. His eyes widened when his hands passed right through the demigod. Percy backed up and winced at Zoë's cries and screams. He turned his head to the side and closed his eyes, unable to watch.

Suddenly, he heard a grunt of pain. He looked and saw Heracles on the ground, unconscious. A young man with white long hair and dressed in white robes was standing in front of the knocked out son of Zeus with a hand held out. The man turned to Zoë, who crawled away in fear. The man's expression softened and he knelt, reaching for Zoë, who shrieked in terror. "Please, don't hurt me!" she cried.

The man smiled sadly. "I'm not going to hurt you, young one. I swear on the River Styx." Thunder boomed above. Zoë calmed down eventually. "I came to stop that vile man from doing to you what he did to many others. Are you alright?"

Zoë nodded quickly. "What...what do you want with me?"

The man smiled. "I want nothing except to help you. You must go." His expression turned serious, but his eyes were sad. "Your sisters and father already know of your betrayal. They have disowned you. You must find sanctuary somewhere else. Do not return to this place. If you do, your father will attempt to kill you."

Zoë looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I don't know where to go! I don't know the land!" she cried.

The man seemed to be thinking. He snapped his fingers and a beast ran out of the shadows. Percy stared in surprise and shock. It was a serpent with three heads: one with the head of a man, one with the head of a bull, and the last with the head of a lion. Percy frowned, wondering what monster that was. "This is Tijd. He is a beast who happens to actually be a part of my essence. I want you to follow him. He will lead you to the Hunters of Lady Artemis alive, I swear on the River Styx."

Zoë hesitated. "Why are you doing this?"

The man smiled. "Because you don't deserve to suffer the consequences for the mistakes that others make. Now go." The three-headed beast ran off. Zoë got up and ran off after the beast.

The man stood up. "There are many beings in the universe who are vile and disgusting creatures." The man turned to Percy with a solemn expression, and Percy saw that the man had bright golden eyes. "You now know who one of those beings are. Keep this memory in mind. You will require what you've seen here to take action in the future at the gates."

Percy frowned in confusion. "You can see me? And you're from this time? How is this possible?"

The man laughed. "Time has no effect on me, Percy Jackson. As for how this is possible...well, that is a secret between us Primordial Gods." The man smiled. "Now, I believe you've arrived at Washington D.C. Get ready to entertain a kitten, Percy. Oh, and prepare yourself, for you will have a large burden on your chest later on. I wish you luck." The man vanished and Percy's dream began to fade.

"No, wait!" Percy was pulled out of his dream and he awoke, gasping for air. He panted. Sweat was covering his face. Thalia and Annabeth turned around in their seats and looked back at him in confusion. Phoebe glared at him, and Zoë looked at him from the rear-view mirror with concern. Percy looked away, not wanting to see Zoë's face for a minute. He was too much in shock.

"Percy, are you alright?" Thalia asked. Percy nodded. He remembered his father's words. 'Don't trust her...' Percy shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"What's the matter, boy? Had a bad dream?" Phoebe mocked. Zoë scowled from next to the Hunter. This wasn't what she had meant by respecting Percy.

Percy ignored Phoebe and took out Riptide. He held it up and studied it. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw Zoë staring at him with an unreadable expression. She quickly looked away. Percy frowned and placed Riptide in his pocket, making a mental note to give Riptide back to Zoë.

Zoë parked the car at the train station which was located near the Smithsonian Museum. "We're here," she stated. The plan was to travel to Washington D.C. and take a train to Chicago. Then, the group would switch trains and ride the rest of the way to California. And of course, Percy fully expected something to go wrong. Also, Zoë seemed to know where they were headed but wasn't choosing not share the information with anyone.

Annabeth checked the time. "We have a few hours to spare before our train leaves." She grinned. "Anybody up for a visit to the Smithsonian?"

* * *

The four girls quickly realized that Percy wasn't with them. Zoë frowned. "Where is Perseus?"

Phoebe scoffed. "I knew that bringing that spawn of darkness was a bad idea. We should have just brought another Hunter."

"Enough Phoebe," Zoë commanded, looking around for Percy. "I told you to show him respect."

"I am! I'm not saying that to his face."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "How is that respect? What, have you killed so many monsters that some of their idiocy rubbed off onto you?"

Phoebe glared at Thalia. "Shut up, you whiny little girl."

"Oh, I'm whiny! Ha! That's really funny, Phoebe! Who was the one who couldn't shut up about Percy when he was asleep?! I don't even know why I hang out with people like you!"

"Then leave!"

Thalia laughed bitterly. "Maybe I will!"

"That's enough, you two!" Zoë yelled. Several people looked at them, but they turned away, uninterested. "Fighting will do nothing except slow us down. Phoebe, if you want to find Artemis, then please help us all by showing Perseus a least a little bit of respect!"

"I am showing that boy a little bit of respect!" Phoebe growled. "I've allowed him to live!"

"Phoebe, as your lieutenant, I am ordering you to show Perseus respect!" Phoebe bit her lip at this. Orders were orders, and Phoebe couldn't refuse an order from Zoë.

"Fine," she spat. She stomped ahead and Zoë shook her head at Phoebe's short temper. She wondered where Percy was and thought about how she was going to kill him when he got back.

Percy was thinking about how Zoë was going to kill him when he got back. Not wanting to spend anymore time with Phoebe than he needed to, Percy had silently split away from the group and went exploring on his own. As he walked by the exhibits, something caught his eye. Several snake-women—Scythian dracaenae—were walking towards a room. Percy's eyes narrowed and he followed, willing the shadows and Mist to turn him invisible.

He found himself in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony along with two dracaenae. Standing between the two dracaenae was a blond teenager about maybe nineteen or twenty years old. The blonde's hair was almost gray and his skin was pale. There was an ugly red scar down the side of his face.

Next to the blonde, sitting down, was another man. He was seated on a chair that looked a lot like a throne. Normally, the shadows would have hidden him from view, but Percy could still clearly see the man. He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that looked like they could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. Percy, for a second, thought that he was looking at a statue. Then the man spoke. "Well?" the man said. His voice was deep and strong, as if the earth itself was talking. It filled the entire room even though he wasn't yelling. "Do you have the teeth?"

A guard stumbled forward with a pot. "Y-yes, General."

"Plant them," the General ordered. The guard nodded and took out several pointy teeth. He pushed them into the soil and watered them with some red liquid. "Hahaha! That foolish Hunter and her friends will die at the hands of my warriors! It will be fun telling that foolish goddess Artemis that her best friend died painfully!"

The blond teenager shifted. "Sir, what will you do with Zoë Nightsh—"

"Do not speak her name!" the General bellowed.

"S-sorry, General."

The General waved his hand dismissively. "I will kill that little traitor myself as painfully as possible. If you are interested, you can have a little fun with her before I kill her, if you want." He jumped onto the balcony railing and then jumped down, twenty feet, onto the marble floor. The floor cracked under his leather shoes. The General winced. "Curse my stiff neck and back."

Just as he said that, twelve skeletons erupted from the ground. These zombies had glowing transparent flesh with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and they wore gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. Sparti. "Quickly, the scent!" A dracaenae held a piece of silver cloth to the General. The General snatched the cloth and gave it to the Sparti, who sniffed it, picking up the trail. Percy realized with wide eyes that the silver cloth was part of Zoë's Hunter uniform. He cursed silently. He shadow traveled to the Sparti and ripped the clothing out of their hands. He then shadow traveled to the middle of the room before the Sparti got a chance to grab him. However, they already had the scent.

"Who are you?" the General demanded.

Percy grinned. "Bye." Percy vanished in the shadows, picturing the outside of the room. Once he reappeared, Percy immediately ran. He tore through the museum, not daring to look behind him. He burst into the Air and Space Museum and kept running, looking for the others. The main part of the museum was a huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. There were three levels of balconies curled around.

Percy quickly ran up the balconies and on the top-floor balcony, he ran right into Zoë, knocking both of them to the ground, with Percy on top with his hands trapping Zoë's arms to the ground. Their faces were only inches apart. Percy and Zoë blushed deeply at how close they were and got up. Phoebe had an arrow notched, aimed at Percy's chest.

"Where were you, Perseus?!" Zoë growled angrily.

Percy quickly told her and the others about what he had just seen. Zoë paled. "The General is _here_?"

Percy stared at her weirdly. "You know him?" Zoë didn't answer. "Okay, never mind. My point is that we need to get out of here now!"

"Kitten!" a little boy cried out with delight. Percy looked and saw a massive lion with silver claws and golden glittering fur coming up the ramp.

"The Nemean Lion!" Zoë said, shocked.

Percy stared at the lion, remembering the man's words from his dream. "You white-haired little piece of shit!" he muttered angrily, looking at the lion in disbelief. "_That's_ a _kitten_?!"

Zoë stared at Percy, confused by what he was saying. Before she could ask, the Nemean Lion charged. "Separate!" Zoë yelled.

Percy took out Riptide and rolled to the left. He spun around and slashed quickly, but the sword just bounced off against the lion's fur as sparks flew. Percy cursed and rolled again as the lion pounced. The lion suddenly roared in pain and spun around, facing Thalia, who had her spear and shield out. Her spear crackled with electricity. "Ha!" Thalia shot a small bolt of lightning at the lion and it backed off, roaring in pain.

Suddenly, several silver arrows bounced off of the lion's side. The lion turned and saw Phoebe standing on a capsule with Zoë. The lion charged, and Percy quickly rammed the lion in the side, sending the lion off balance. The lion roared and swatted Percy aside. He slammed into the wall and slid to the ground, dazed.

The lion charged at Phoebe and lunged, ready to tear her head off and crunch it between its jaws. Percy quickly jumped into a shadow and reappeared beside Phoebe. He quickly pushed her out of the way. The lion roared and grabbed Percy's right leg with its jaws, clamping down on it. It pulled and Percy fell to the ground, getting dragged by the lion. Percy yelled in pain as he felt the lion's massive teeth bite into his leg and tear it up.

"Perseus!" Zoë yelled.

Percy barely heard her through the pain. He yelled again in pain and knew that he only had one chance of survival. He looked up. "COVER YOUR EARS!" he screamed.

"Why?" Zoë frowned.

She and the others gasped when they saw Percy's eyes turn completely black. His eyes glowed intesely. "_DO IT!_"

The girls quickly covered their ears. Percy closed his eyes and fought against the pain. **_"SCREECH!" _**It was that demon cry again. Percy's eyes returned to normal and the lion bit down harder. Percy felt his leg bone shatter and his muscle tear to pieces. He yelled in agony.

Just then, two massive hellhounds leaped out of the shadows and bit the Nemean Lion's neck and body. The lion thrashed and let go of Percy's leg, which was now completely mangled, bloody, mutilated, and unrecognizable. The lion roared in pain and then slowly succumbed to death as Cethin choked the lion and snapped its neck. The two hellhounds bowed to Percy. "Go now!" he groaned in pain. The hellhounds disappeared into the shadows.

The girls ran up to him. Percy was shaking from the pain and the blood loss. His face was basically white. He lifted a shaky hand and the shadows wrapped around his leg, slowly fixing the damage that had been done to it. "Are you alright, Percy?" Thalia asked.

"You...need to...go." Percy's voice was deathly quiet. Every word seemed to weaken him even further. "The Sparti...they're...looking for Zoë...You need to...take the train to Chi...cago...I'll catch up...somehow..."

"No." Zoë's eyes narrowed. "You're weak and injured. I am not leaving you here, Perseus. You are coming with us, even if we need to carry you ourselves. I will not leave you here to die."

Percy laughed humorlessly. The pain was getting worse. "Don't...bother...I'll only...slow you...down..." Percy collapsed and his heartbeat stopped.

"_Perseus!_"

* * *

**He isn't dead, if that is what you're wondering. **

**Anyways, hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Also, points for whoever figures out who that white haired Primordial is (I tried to be as obvious as I could). Anyways, review and tell me what you think. And of course, suggestions are welcome.**


	5. Junkyard of the Gods

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

**Read/Fav/Follow/Review/Enjoy!**

**If you like the the story, why not share it with others? Spread the word!**

***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

**forgottenfox24: **

**A: Yes.**

**And yes, the white haired man from before is indeed Chronos.**

* * *

_Percy collapsed and his heartbeat stopped._

"Perseus!" Zoë gasped. She felt for a pulse. "He doesn't have a pulse! Phoebe!" Phoebe immediately started CPR. Zoë turned to Annabeth and Thalia. "Quickly, do either of you know how to do artificial respiration?"

The two girls shook their heads. "I read about it, but I've never tried it or had any practice with it," Annabeth said.

Zoë froze and cursed silently in her head. She groaned. "I'll do it then." She leaned down and forced his mouth open. She tried not to grimace and leaned down and placed her lips against his, exhaling. His chest rose slightly.

Suddenly, Zoë and Phoebe found themselves flying away from Percy. They landed on the ground painfully. Zoë looked up and saw the shadows shifting and rippling violently. They lashed out and shot into Percy's chest. His body spasmed and then relaxed. The shadows then wrapped around his leg and formed a bandage made of shadows around it. Zoë knelt down next to Percy and felt a steady pulse. "His pulse is back," Zoë said, shocked. "The shadows healed him." She watched as his chest rose and fell.

"Well, then we better get out of here quickly!" Annabeth said. She pointed at three Sparti approaching them. "Looks like they found us!"

Zoë cursed. "Phoebe, help me get him on my back!" Phoebe stared at weirdly. Zoë rolled her eyes. "We can't just leave him here to die. Come on!"

Phoebe helped Zoë place Percy on her back. She tilted her head. "Let's get to the train station before they do."

The four girls ran off out of the museum and towards the train station. However, there were seven Sparti waiting for them there. Zoë cursed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another train called _SUNSET RAILWAYS—WE ALWAYS GO WESTERN_. She nudged Phoebe. "We can board that train over there." The four girls reached the train and opened one of the doors. They quickly slid inside and closed it. Zoë laid Percy on the ground, sweating profusely from the strain of carrying him around. After a while, she spoke. "Phoebe, check if any Sparti are following us," she panted. "We'll set up camp here."

Just then, the train lurched, setting off on its course heading west. Annabeth and Thalia went into the cars that were sitting in the train. Phoebe rolled out a sleeping bag and sat on it, watching Percy with an unreadable expression. Zoë watched as the shadows slowly healed Percy's mutilated leg.

Just then, the shadows shifted and several hellhounds came out. Phoebe reached for her bow, but Zoë waved her off. She reluctantly put her bow away and watched warily as the hellhounds, led by a massive hellhound, sat down around Percy, watching the others with glowing red eyes. Zoë then realized that they were guarding him. The largest hellhound was sniffing Percy's injured leg. The hellhound growled threateningly and whirled around, facing Zoë once more. Zoë reached for her bow, but she suddenly couldn't move. Phoebe seemed to be the same. Annabeth and Thalia came out of the cars, but the shadows immobilized them as well.

Then Phoebe felt it. A massive wave of fear traveled through her body, causing her to shiver uncontrollably. The hellhound stared at her with narrowed eyes and he growled. The feeling of fear got worse and Phoebe began to scream in terror.

"Stop!" Zoë shouted.

The hellhound faced her and growled. _Tell me why I shouldn't, Hunter. _Zoë realized with a shock that the hellhound had just spoken. Annabeth and Thalia stopped struggling and froze when they heard the hellhound's voice.

"You can speak?" Annabeth asked with a bewildered expression.

The hellhound growled._ My brethren can only communicate with Lord Perseus, but as an alpha of the hellhounds, I gain the ability to speak to all creatures._

"Why are you hurting Phoebe?" Zoë demanded.

_The darkness always protects its own,_ it growled. _From physical and mental enemies._ It took Zoë a few moments to realize what the hellhound meant by that, and by then, the hellhound already had its mouth open, ready to crunch Phoebe's head off.

"It's not Phoebe's fault!" Zoë said, desperately trying to buy time for her half-insane-from-fear friend. "She didn't mean—"

_You lie._ the hellhound growled. _That Huntress has done nothing except torture Lord Perseus. She will suffer for her crimes against the prince of darkness. _

"That's enough, Cethin." Percy sat up slowly, wincing in pain. "Stand down. Let them go."

Cethin bowed his head. _As you wish, my lord._ The shadows receded. Phoebe fell to the ground with a crash and shivered uncontrollably. "Phoebe!" Zoë rushed over to her friend. She whirled around and faced Percy. "Fix her!"

Cethin growled, but Percy held up a hand and he quieted. He gestured to Cethin with his head towards Phoebe's direction. "Put her to sleep." Cethin nodded. The shadows passed over Phoebe's face and she sighed, falling asleep. Percy winced in pain and clutched his leg. "She'll be fine," he panted. He turned to Cethin. "You may go." Just then, a small bark rang out from the shadows. Percy frowned.

_I apologize, my lord. Once we sensed your pain, he became more restless than ever._

Percy sighed. "Bring him here. And you can leave afterwards." Cethin bowed and barked to the other hellhounds. They ran off into the shadows. A small black dog soon ran out of the shadows, barking excitedly. Percy grinned tiredly. "You little rascal...can't stay away for a few hours, can you?" Gared jumped into his arms and Percy buried his face in the dog's fur.

Eventually, Percy faced Zoë, who was sitting a few feet away. Phoebe, Annabeth, and Thalia were getting some sleep, so the two were left alone to talk. "I'm sorry about what Cethin did to Phoebe back there," Percy said after a while. Zoë didn't answer. "He shouldn't have done that."

Zoë sighed. "I'm sorry about Phoebe. I should have stopped her before in the car. Then we could have avoided this entire mess."

Percy nodded. "Perhaps." He had his hood up, and Gared was asleep on top of his head. He winced and placed a hand on his leg. He sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I've been thinking...you're...you're a daughter of Atlas, aren't you?"

Zoë's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?" she demanded.

"I had a dream. About you and Heracles." Zoë visibly stiffened and she scowled. "You spoke of Ladon as if you knew him well. And your father in the mountain...this was during his eleventh labor, wasn't it."

Zoë sighed. "Yes. I have spent millennia trying to forget it, but every time I go to Olympus with Artemis, I see that pig's face there. Not to mention that he had stolen my—" Zoë stopped abruptly. She looked away and placed a hand on her hair, remembering the time when she once had a beautiful hairpin on it.

"What did he do?" Percy asked, trying to confirm what Zoë was talking about. "What did he steal?"

Zoë shook her head. "It is none of your business. What that pig stole from me was personal."

Suddenly, Zoë heard a clang. She turned and saw Percy holding Riptide. Her sword. Zoë frowned at Percy. "How did you come to possess that sword?"

Percy shook his head. "It's not mine to possess. But if you want to know, I met Heracles at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. He tried to stop me from entering, being the cocky ass he is, so I beat him up." Percy turned Riptide into its hairpin form. "I then took this sword from him, wondering why he would have a hairpin. It wasn't until after that I realized that the hairpin transformed into a sword." Percy held out the hairpin to Zoë. "It wasn't until that dream that I realized where this hairpin had come from." He grabbed Zoë's hand and placed Riptide on her palm. He closed her hand. Before he pulled away, he felt a spark run up his hand and through his arm, traveling into his body. Little did he know that Zoë had felt the exact same thing. "Take it. It's yours. Don't worry about me, I have my own weapons. Oh, and I'm sorry for what Heracles did, and for what he nearly did do to you."

Zoë looked down at Riptide, holding it in her hand tightly. "You...you saw that as well?"

Percy nodded. "As much as I didn't want to see it, I had no choice. I'm sorry you had to almost endure something as horrible as that. I saw how you were saved by that man in white clothes with white hair."

Zoë nodded. "I will always be grateful to that man. If it wasn't for him, I would have never found Lady Artemis, and I would have suffered a fate much worse than death."

Percy frowned. "Do you know who that was? The man who saved you."

Zoë shook her head. "I never could find out. I searched for an answer, but I never found one. All I could figure was that he was a god. Perhaps a minor god or something."

Percy laughed nervously. Zoë stared at him strangely. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...I don't think he was a minor god."

Zoë frowned, confused. "How can you be so sure?"

Percy shrugged. "Well...first of all, you met him, like, two thousand years ago, right?" Zoë nodded, not understanding where this was going. "Well...I don't think that even Zeus from two thousand years in the past could talk to me directly in a dream."

Zoë's confused expression turned surprised. "That man spoke to you directly?" she asked, baffled.

Percy chuckled. "I didn't believe it at first either. When I asked him how it was possible for him to talk to me, he said, and I quote, 'that is a secret between us Primordial Gods.' I've done some research, and the best that I could come up with was that that god was Chronos."

Zoë frowned. "The Titan?"

Percy shook his head. "The Primordial. Most mortals know him as 'Father Time,' I think. He's not just someone who can alter time, but rather, he _is_ time itself. Chronos was also imagined with three heads—those of a man, a bull, and a lion. He sent a beast that had those three heads to lead you to Artemis, saying that it was a part of his essence. So the real question is..." Percy faced Zoë with a serious expression. "Why would the Primordial God of Time itself help you? Not that it's a bad thing, it's just that...obviously, you've done something to gain his favor, right?"

Zoë looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure...until that..._incident_, I had never seen him before."

"Well, that could mean that you have an important role in fate, sweetheart." Zoë and Percy jumped with the latter wincing and cursing in pain. They turned and saw Apollo sitting next to them, grinning widely. "My two favorite demigods on a date! How nice!" Zoë and Percy blushed. They glared at Apollo. "Aw, and they blush together as well! You two are so cute."

"Apollo, with all due respect, why are you here?" Percy asked. "I thought it's against the rules to interfere with a quest."

Apollo nodded. His grin got a little smaller. "Correct, Percy. It's against the rules. But nobody messes with my baby sister. _Nobody._"

"Can you help us, then?"

"Shhh. I already have. Haven't you been looking outside?"

Zoë's eyes widened with realization. "The train. How fast are we moving?"

Apollo chuckled. "Fast enough. Unfortunately, we're running out of time. It's almost midnight. But I imagine we'll get you across a good chunk of America, at least."

Percy frowned. "Wait. You're the god of prophecies, right?"

Apollo nodded. "Right on, kiddo."

"Then do you know what monster Artemis was chasing?"

"No," Apollo said. "But there is one who might. If you haven't yet found the monster when you reach San Francisco, seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. He has a long memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes kept obscure from my Oracle." Apollo checked his nonexistent watch. "Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again, Percy, Zoë, but remember what I said! Get some sleep, you two! And when you return, I expect a good haiku about your journey!" Apollo disappeared in a flash of light.

Percy leaned back and sighed. Gared woke up due to Apollo's flashy exit and yawned. He jumped down and landed on Zoë's lap. He then curled up and went back to sleep before she could protest. She glared at Percy, who shrugged, trying not to laugh. "If he chooses a place to sleep, you aren't going to be able to pry him away from it."

Zoë's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying I have to leave him like this until he decides to wake up?" she growled.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Relax, Zoë. It'll be fine. It's not that bad." Zoë sighed and looked down at Gared. She stroked the young pup's head gently. A feeling of dread suddenly overcame her as she thought about how the closer she got to Mouth Othrys, the closer she got to her impending doom. Percy studied her closely. "You think that the last line of the prophecy is about you, don't you."

Zoë sighed, not looking up from Gared. "It makes the most sense. My father has wanted to kill me ever since I betrayed his trust and helped that pig."

Percy scowled. "You aren't going to die. I'm going to make sure of it. I swear on the Styx that I'm not going to let you die by your father's hands."

Zoë stared at him, shocked that he had the guts to make a promise like that. "Why do you care so much?"

Percy shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure myself. I guess...you have a great family with the Hunters. I don't want some lousy Titan to take that away from you. I don't want your friends to experience the pain that I had to go through."

Zoë raised an eyebrow. "And what is that exactly?"

Percy was silent for a while. Finally, he spoke. "The death of someone you love." His breath was shaky. "When someone you love dies, the pain, the emotional trauma that you experience...it makes you wonder if there's anything in the world that could come close to the amount of pain you feel. You lose faith in the world, and everything turns black and white. Happiness, hope, it all goes away." Percy laughed bitterly and a single tear fell from his eye and ran down his cheek. Zoë said nothing. "Makes you wonder sometimes whether you're going insane or not. Whether it's better to just die or not." He wiped his cheek and sniffled. He shook his head slightly, staring at the metal curtain of the train. Even in the dim light, Zoë could clearly see Percy's tear-filled eyes. "I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I went through back then." Gared, sensing Percy's distress, got up and cuddled next to Percy, whining. Percy stroked Gared's head, smiling a little.

Zoë stared at Percy sadly. "Why are you on this quest? Helping us? After all that happened in your life and what Poseidon did to your mother, one would think that you would have joined the Titans a long time ago."

Percy didn't look away from Gared. "The Olympians are terrible rulers, I'll admit. The Titans, however, are much worse. They believe that they are the superior beings of the universe. I originally didn't want anything to do with either side, but my father convinced me that some of the Olympians were worth saving, like Artemis. And that's why...here I am."

Zoë hesitated. "Perseus...if you don't mind...what was your life like before all this? Before the Olympians found out about you?"

Percy looked up, deep in thought. His hand rested near Gared's head, who licked it. "Well...after my mom died, I ran away. I lived on the streets, in abandoned buildings, whatever. For the first few years, life was hell. I was constantly beat up, bullied, treated like trash. The only reason why I didn't die was because every time somebody tried to kill me, they would fall to the ground, dead." Zoë looked both shocked and confused. "It wasn't until later on that I discovered that I could unleash my power and literally cause people and monsters to die from fear. That was how I defeated Heracles. While he didn't die, he still went into a coma. Anyways, after I trained myself to control my powers, I began to steal. By altering the Mist, I was never caught." Percy sighed. "I lived like that for three years. Then Hades found me. He offered me a home in the Underworld and to adopt me as his son. I refused. While the offer was tempting, I didn't want anybody replacing my mother. Hades was understanding and generous. He still built a room for me in the Underworld so that I could stay there whenever I wanted. It was then that I found out that I was the lord of all hellhounds.

"Afterwards, I began to travel the world. I couldn't get to the places I wanted to because of the fact that I can't shadow travel to places that I don't know or can't see. So I went by sea and land. I traveled to a lot of places, but I stayed the most in Europe. When I went there, it was then that I met and fought Heracles. After fighting him, I traveled to Rome, Athens, Paris, London, basically anywhere that sounded interesting. There was actually this one place in Norway that was pretty cool because apparently, there once was a monarch who froze her entire kingdom...but anyways, yeah. I returned occasionally to America to do favors for Hades."

Zoë frowned. "Have you ever gone anywhere in America?"

Percy shook his head, smiling a little. "I see where you're going with this. The places that I traveled to...they would only bring us farther east than our starting point in New York." Percy frowned. "The General...that was Atlas, wasn't it."

Zoë nodded morosely. "In the ancient times, that was what many called him, as he was the general of Kronos' army."

Percy's eyes widened. "Then somebody else is holding up Ouranos. And I'm guessing that it's..?" He looked at Zoë, asking a silent question.

Zoë nodded sadly. "Yes. I believe that Artemis is holding up the sky."

Percy tested his leg. It was fully healed. He sighed in relief. "Well," he said, standing up. "When we get to...wherever we're going, what do you say we throw Atlas back under Ouranos?"

Zoë smiled. "Not that bad of an idea, Perseus."

Percy laughed. "I'll have you know that my ideas are actually quite genius."

Zoë rolled her eyes. "Typical male."

"That hurts my feelings, Zoë."

"Good."

Percy laughed, and eventually, Zoë began to laugh as well.

Maybe, just maybe, Percy Jackson wasn't so bad.

* * *

Percy got up and yawned. Gared yawned from on top of his head. Percy looked around and saw everyone still sleeping except Phoebe. Percy resisted the urge to groan. He _really_ didn't want to be alone with Phoebe, who seemed to get her joy from torturing others.

Percy sighed softly. "Good morning," he said, shifting through his backpack. He grabbed his Harry Potter book and sat down.

"Good morning, bo—Percy," Phoebe said.

Percy felt awkward. Since when had Phoebe called him by his name? "Yeah, um...yeah...So...yeah." Feeling embarrassed, he opened his book and focused his attention to it. He was slightly aware of Gared staring at the book with interest, trying to figure out what those strange markings on the pages were. Of course, Percy wasn't all that surprised. He didn't really expect the equivalence of an eight month old baby to start reading.

"Percy?" Percy looked up at Phoebe, feeling nervous.

"Uh...yeah?"

Phoebe shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry about how I treated you before. Although I treated you like trash, you still saved me from the Nemean Lion, and for that, I'm grateful towards you."

Percy stared at her weirdly. "Are you sure it's just not Cethin screwing around with your mind? And I'm sorry about that yesterday."

Phoebe shook her head. "It's just that I finally realized how foolish I was."

Percy nodded. "Well...apology accepted."

Phoebe looked up in surprise. "Really?"

Percy grinned. "Here, I'll even let you pet Gared." Gared jumped off of Percy's head and ran towards Phoebe with his tongue out, panting. He leaped into her arms and licked her face, barking happily. Phoebe laughed slightly.

By the time Zoë woke up, Phoebe and Percy were already good friends. Zoë had originally stared at them disbelievingly, but she eventually got used to it. The train then stopped, and she told Percy to go wake Annabeth up while she went and woke Thalia.

Percy went to the car where Annabeth was sleeping and opened the door. He was about to tell her to wake up, but something caught his eye. He looked down and saw several bruises on her arm. Some of them looked pretty recent. Annabeth was wearing a long sleeved shirt and Percy guessed that it wasn't just for warmth, but to hide the bruises. Percy frowned. What could have done this to her? He had to know. He gently shook her. "Hey Annabeth, it's time to wake up."

Annabeth shifted. She grabbed her arm sleeve and pulled it down, concealing her bruises. "Not now..."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yes now," he said a little forcibly.

"Okay, okay, just don't hit me, Orion..." Annabeth opened her eyes and rubbed them. "Oh, it's you Percy." Was it just him imagining things, or did Percy actually hear relief in Annabeth's voice, as if she had escaped some sort of danger?

Percy glanced around. No one was near them. "Annabeth, I need to ask you something. It's really important."

"What is it, Percy?" Annabeth yawned.

Percy hesitated. "Orion...he's...has he been...abusing you?"

Annabeth froze. Her silence told Percy the answer. "Does anyone else know?" Percy asked. Annabeth shook her head. "Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Because...he said if I try anything, he'll...he'll..." Annabeth's voice was so quiet that Percy had to strain to barely hear it. "He'll rape and kill me if I do."

Percy suddenly had a flashback of his past and for a moment, he saw red. "Alright," he said with barely controlled anger. "This is what we're going to do. After this quest, I am going to go and drive him insane with fear."

Annabeth looked up, fear evident on her face. "No! He'll kill me then! He'll—"

"He isn't going to be able to touch you anymore," Percy growled. "I'm going to make sure of it. I promise."

Annabeth stared at him. "Why are you doing this for me?"

Percy sighed. "Because I don't want you going through what I went through. Now come on. We've stopped." Annabeth noticed how quick Percy was to change the subject.

The five got off with Gared sitting on Percy's head. Percy looked around. "Anyone know where we are?" he asked.

Zoë saw a sign and read it aloud. "Gila Claw, Arizona. We're almost at our destination."

"Which direction is west?" Percy asked. Zoë pointed towards the hills, which happened to be completely made of junk.

"We will have to go through the junkyard of the gods," Zoë said. "Let's go. The faster we get through the junkyard, the better our chances of survival." She marched off, leaving everyone else behind. Gared barked excitedly and jumped off of Percy's head, running after Zoë. The others soon followed.

They were halfway through the junkyard when they were a loud screeching sound. The sound of metal against metal. Gared whimpered and ran towards Percy. Percy picked him up and held him close, frowning. "What the hell was that?"

Zoë turned around and cursed. "Look, there! It's Talos." A massive automaton was stomping towards them, drawing large rusty sword that Percy did not look forward to getting hit with. "But it can't be the real version. It's too small. Maybe it's a defective model."

Talos creaked angrily and ran at them, swinging his sword. The five split. Percy vanished into a shadow and reappeared behind Talos next to Zoë. He quickly urged Gared into the shadows. "_That's_ a defective model?" The two dived and rolled to avoid getting killed by a rusty celestial bronze wall. "Aren't defective models supposed to have some kind of problem with them instead of being, oh I don't know,_ fifty foot tall killing machines_?!"

Talos raised a foot to squash them, but Percy grabbed Zoë's hand and pulled them both into a shadow. They reappeared next to Thalia and Annabeth, who were taking cover behind a pile of junk. Percy immediately ran into the shadows again. Zoë turned and her eyes widened. Phoebe was about to get crushed by Talos' giant metal foot. "Phoebe!" Zoë screamed. The foot came down.

Phoebe had closed her eyes and braced herself for death, but the foot never hit her. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Percy casting a barrier of darkness around both of them. She looked up and it was then that she saw a hatchway on the bottom of Talos' foot. Just then, the foot came down again, and the barrier cracked. Percy collapsed to one knee, sweating profusely. "I can't keep this up any longer!" he warned, panting heavily. "I need you to run!"

The foot came down, and Percy's barrier shattered. Percy yelled in pain and hunched over. Just then, a sword came down. Percy could barely create a barrier before the sword hit him, sending him flying. He landed on the ground with a groan and collapsed.

Phoebe quickly climbed up the maintenance hatchway and found herself in the control room. She quickly began to press random buttons.

Zoë was about to go in to get Phoebe out of Talos when the automaton suddenly froze and exploded, knocking her back. "Phoebe!" she screamed. She began to sob, mourning for the loss of her friend. She finally realized that the prophecy's words had come true._ 'One shall be lost in the land without rain.'_

Eventually, Thalia found a truck and with difficulty, she and Annabeth managed to get Percy's unconscious body onboard in the back. Due to there not being enough space, Zoë had to sit in the back with him.

She sniffled, staring at the horizon. Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Percy looking at her sadly. He whistled softly and the shadows shifted. Gared ran out of the shadows and faced the two with bright red eyes. Percy tilted his head towards Zoë. Gared understood and climbed into Zoë's arms. She buried her face in the young pup's fur and sobbed. Gared didn't seem to care about the tears staining his fur. As Zoë sobbed, she could feel Gared's small heart beating rapidly along with his fast breathing.

"I swear." Zoë faced Percy with tear-filled eyes. His eyes were devoid of anything except rage. "Anyone supporting the enemy will die a death one thousand times worse than Tartarus."

Zoë didn't say anything. Instead she looked at the sky and thought, _Just you wait, sister. I'll be joining you shortly._

* * *

A man watching the two laughed. He was wearing light blue robes and held a glowing yellow and light blue scepter. He had blond hair and glowing bright yellow eyes.

"I suppose I should at least let the Titans and Olympians play their little war games before I tear him into pieces."

The man laughed again, filling his temple with laughter.

* * *

**Make sure you all review and stuff. I seriously can't tell if you all like this story or not.**


	6. The Glowing Eye

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

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* * *

"So where exactly is Nereus?" Percy asked Zoë. He and the three girls were walking down to the waterfront, searching for the old sea god. They had finally reached San Francisco after getting chased a wild boar that also destroyed their truck, escaping the Sparti in Hoover Dam, and hitching a ride with two annoying angel statues.

"He will be around here," Zoë said. Thalia and Annabeth were walking behind Percy and Zoë, talking quietly. Zoë turned to Percy. "If you don't mind my asking, how do you perform that demon cry?"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you mean that screeching thing? All children on Erebus and Nyx can do it. There's two types of screeches. One summons the hellhounds and another summons all the children of Erebus and Nyx, including the Fates. Still, as powerful as it is, I don't like to use it except in desperate situations. Everytime I use it, I feel like fainting."

Zoë frowned. "And yet you used it in Camp Half-Blood."

Percy shrugged. "Well, those fools needed to be taught a lesson. It was well worth it."

Zoë nodded and smiled a little. She then looked around. She pointed towards the docks. "He will be there."

Eventually, they found Nereus. He looked like Santa's fatter evil twin. He was sitting on a chair that looked as old as him and was surrounded by sea lions. "How are we supposed to get an answer out of him?" Percy asked. "We're supposed to capture him, right?"

Zoë nodded. "Yes. However, that is easier said than done. Nereus is not an easy opponent. He will attempt to run away and he will fight hard to avoid capture."

"Then we'll have to sneak up on him."

"Simply sneaking up on him is almost impossible. We will need a disguise."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Disguise?"

A few minutes later, Percy was dressed in jeans that were several times too large, a white torn shirt that almost exposed his entire stomach, and a floppy rainbow hat that made Percy feel like killing himself. Thalia, Annabeth, and Zoë were covering their mouths in an effort to stifle their laughter, but it didn't work. Percy scowled. "Do I really have to wear this?"

Zoë grinned. "Yes, Perseus. Now go."

Percy rolled his eyes and walked towards Nereus. He grinned evilly when he saw the shadows underneath the sea god's chair. This was going to be easier than he thought. He ran up to Nereus and held out his hand. The shadows responded and wrapped around Nereus, binding him to the chair. Percy stopped next to him and grabbed his throat. "I have a question for you, Nereus, and you're going to answer it."

Nereus grinned a toothless grin at Percy and Percy resisted the urge to cringe. "Why should I help you? You have to capture me first."

Percy's eyes narrowed. "I just did."

"No you didn't." Nereus suddenly turned into a frog and hopped out of his chair, jumping towards the sea. Percy growled. He didn't want to use his water powers, but he had no choice. He yelled and the surface of the sea froze. Unfortunately for Nereus, he had turned into a seal and smashed his face against the ice. He turned back and growled. "I will never help you! Never! You demigods should all just go away and die! Oh wait, one of you already have!"

Percy's eyes flashed angrily and his forehead glowed as if something inside was trying to get out. Percy didn't notice and neither did anyone else. He stepped towards Nereus and the shadows responded violently. Tendrils of darkness appeared behind Percy and thrashed. Spikes grew on the tendrils. Nereus paled. He backed away, about to turn into a bird and fly away, but the shadows lashed out and wrapped around his body, squeezing hard. Nereus yelped in pain as the spikes dug into his body. "You transform into something big and the shadows will rip you apart," Percy growled. His eyes were glowing black and wisps of black mist rolled off his body. "You transform into something small and I will crush you to oblivion. Now you are going to answer my questions or die."

Despite the pain, Nereus yelled, "One question per capture!"

Percy sneered and closed his hand into a fist. The shadows tightened around Nereus and the god screamed in pain. "I think you can make an exception for me."

"Perseus, that's enough!" Zoë said sternly.

Percy ignored her. He leaned closer to the god. "I just lost a good friend of mine and I am _not_ in a good mood. If I were you, I'd start talking." The god whimpered. "First question. Other than Atlas, how many other Titans have escaped from their prisons?"

"T-two!"

"Who?"

"One q-question per—"

"_Answer the question._"

Nereus gulped. "Hyperion and Koios!"

"Next question. The monster Artemis was chasing. Which monster is it And where is it? Answer this and you can go."

"It's-it's the Ophiotaurus! And it's right there!" Nereus pointed a shaky finger towards the sea. The water rippled.

Percy's eyes widened. "Fine." The shadows receded and the sea unfroze. "You can go." Nereus quickly ran away into the sea.

Zoë came up next to him. "That was a little too harsh."

Percy shook his head, scowling. "He insulted Phoebe. He deserves worse than that. I don't care if it's a god or a Titan or whatever; if someone insults my friends, they will pay the price."

"And has Nereus paid his price?"

Percy snorted. "Hell no. He's in debt." Zoë didn't know why she found that funny, but she burst out laughing. Percy grinned a little and took off his disguise clothing. He was happy that he had worn his disguise on top of his regular clothing.

"Guys?" Thalia called. Zoë and Percy turned. Thalia and Annabeth were staring at some sort of creature in the water. The half-serpent half-cow creature mooed and stared back. "What is this?"

Zoë got a closer look and gasped. "It's the Ophiotaurus," she breathed. "I was a fool. This is the monster that can destroy Olympus. This is the monster we were searching for."

Percy knelt down next to her. "_That's_ the Ophiotaurus?" He looked deeply disturbed. "You know what, I think I like the drawings better. And seriously..? Is this thing what can destroy Olympus? The monster that has the power to destroy the gods?"

"Yes, and that power will be unleashed by you, Thalia." The four whirled around to see the same blond teenager from the Smithsonian standing there, looking smug. He had a small army of monsters and enemy demigods behind him.

"Luke," Thalia growled.

Luke grinned. "Hey, Thalia. Long time no see, huh? Anyways, this monster—"

Percy frowned. "Wait a minute." He stepped a few steps forward. He pointed at Luke. "You have blond hair."

Luke frowned. "Yeah, and? So what?"

"And your name is Luke."

"And?"

"And you're leading an army of rebels."

"_And?_"

Percy didn't speak for a while. His eyebrows raised and he turned around and walked back to the others. "Wow, your parents must have been _really_ obsessed with Star Wars." Luke turned red with anger. Percy turned around and grinned crookedly. "Okay, Skywalker, continue."

Luke's eyes narrowed. "As I was saying, this monster—"

Percy turned to the others. "Hey, you want to go grab something to eat?" The others stared at him weirdly. He winked and mouthed, _Get ready to attack. _

Luke sneered. "As I was saying, this monster—" Percy yawned loudly. Luke growled in anger. "This monster—" _CLANG, CLANG, CLANG. _Percy was tapping a metal pole with his sword, looking bored. "This monster—"_ BANG, BANG, BANG. _Percy was now slamming his sword against the pole. "This mons—" _BANG._ "_Will you stop that?!_"

Percy held up his hands innocently. "Woah, man, I'm not doing anything. So what were you saying about that monster? It's _so_ interesting."

Luke snarled. "The Ophiotaurus will—"

"Alright girls, time to go." Luke let out a strangled scream of rage. "Now," Percy whispered. The four charged at the army, who were distracted by Percy's interruptions of Luke's speech. Percy quickly slashed through two monsters and Zoë shot three in the head. Thalia stabbed her spear into the gut of a Telekhine and Annabeth put on her invisibility cap. A random monster suddenly burst into dust.

Percy thought that they were doing pretty well. In the corner of his eye, he saw Thalia get sprayed with something. She spluttered and backed up. Percy was by her side instantly and he cut down a monster that was aiming for her. "You alright?" he asked Thalia. She nodded. He jumped back into the battle and cut down several Telekhines. Suddenly, he felt something slam against the back of his head. He collapsed to the ground, dizzy and looked up. Thalia stood in front of him, regarding him coldly. Zoë was also on the ground, stunned. Annabeth was unconscious. "You..." Percy remembered his father's words. _"Do not trust that daughter of Zeus, Thalia..." _

"Let's go, Thalia." Luke held his hand out. Thalia nodded and grabbed his hand. "Have fun, guys." The two vanished with a flash of green light.

The monsters and enemy demigods faced the stunned demigods, grinning. Percy was screaming a thousand curses towards Thalia in his mind. He growled in anger and got up. "_HELLHOUNDS!_" The monsters froze. Percy grinned. An army of hellhounds leaped out of the shadows and lunged at the monsters and enemy demigods, barking. The army screamed and tried to run, but they were surrounded. The hellhounds pounced. Percy felt a little bad for the enemy. He had to admit, several thousand hellhounds versus about fifty monsters and demigods was a tiny bit overkill.

The hellhounds faced Percy, having now killed the monsters and demigods. Percy grinned. "Thanks for the help, everyone. Couldn't have done it without you." The hellhounds howled. "You can go now." The hellhounds ran back into the shadows.

Zoë stood up a little unsteadily. "A little too much, don't you think?"

Percy grinned at her. "Maybe a tiny bit." His smile melted and he knelt down next to Annabeth. "We need to take her somewhere safe. And we need to do something about the Ophiotaurus." He stood up and went to the docks. He held his hand out and the Ophiotaurus went to it. It shivered when it sensed the immense power rolling off of Percy. "We'll send it out to sea for now and deal with it later." The water propelled the Ophiotaurus out into the sea. It disappeared under the waves.

Percy walked back to Annabeth and gently picked her up. He wrapped her arm around his neck for better support and turned to Zoë. "Know any places we can stay for rest?"

Zoë looked up at the sky. It was basically nighttime now. "We will not reach Mount Othrys in the short amount of time we have. Our last chance before the winter solstice is tomorrow."

Percy frowned. "Why the winter solstice?"

"The Olympians have their war council on that day. Artemis has always been one of the most vocal ones during war councils. Without her, we will lose an entire year of war preparations."

Percy rolled his eyes. "A war council on only one day? No wonder the Titans are escaping their prisons. The gods aren't doing anything at all about it."

"Thalia!" Annabeth gasped, thrashing around. Percy almost dropped her. "We're in trouble!"

"Easy there, Annabeth," Percy said. "We're fine. The army's gone. We're safe, for now."

Annabeth nodded slowly, coming back to her senses. Then she noticed that Percy was carrying her. She blushed. "Can...can you put me down?"

Percy nodded and helped Annabeth stand up. The moment she tried to walk, she stumbled and almost fell. "So...dizzy..."

"Alright, I'm carrying you." Percy crouched down. "Get on." Annabeth stumbled over and wrapped her arms around his neck. Percy stood up and picked up Annabeth's backpack. He turned to Zoë. "Are there any resting spots?"

"There's...my dad's..." Annabeth mumbled. She reached into her pocket and gave it to Percy. "I don't really get along with him...but we can rest there...He goes by Dr. Chase..."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Alright." He nodded to Zoë. "Let's go."

* * *

"I am never trusting you with a map ever again," Zoë growled angrily, her hands itching to strangle Percy. It should have taken the three an hour and a half to find the house.

It took them four hours.

Percy grinned sheepishly. "My bad. Sorry about that." His head still hurt from where Zoë smack him in an effort to reset his brain.

The three were in front of a massive house. They were standing on the front porch and were waiting for someone to answer the door. The door opened and a man popped out. He wore an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. His appearance was so strange that Percy and Zoë both took a step back.

"Hello," the man said in a friendly voice. "Are you delivering my airplanes?"

Zoë and Percy glanced at each other warily.

Luckily, Annabeth was there to save the day. "Dad, it's me," she said tiredly from Percy's back. Although Percy had told her to get some sleep, she refused and stayed awake despite her condition.

"Annabeth?" The man held the door wide open. "Is that you?"

Annabeth nodded. "It's me, dad."

"Come in, come in!" Annabeth's father ushered them in and closed the door.

The three entered the house. There were LEGO robots on the stairs and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. There was a coffee table stacked with magazines and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. The home was messy, but it also radiated a homey, comfortable feeling. It was so peaceful. So nice...

"DAD!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!" Strike that, this place was terrible.

"Bobby," Dr. Chase called absentmindedly. "Stop taking apart your brother's robots."

"I'm Bobby! He's Matthew!" the same little boy protested.

"Matthew," Dr. Chase called. "Stop taking apart your brother's robots."

"'Kay, Dad!"

"Dr. Chase," Percy said. Dr. Chase turned and faced them. "Annabeth's injured. It's not too serious, but she still needs lots of rest. I need somewhere to set her down so that she can sleep." Zoë was surprised on how Percy sounded like he was born to give out orders.

Dr. Chase paled. "Of course. This way." He was about to lead them to Annabeth's room when a woman appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun.

"Honey, who are our guests?" she asked.

Dr. Chase stared at Percy and Zoë blankly. The two quickly introduced themselves. "Annabeth?" the woman gasped.

Annabeth waved her hand a little in greeting, half-asleep. "Hi, mom..."

"What happened?" Annabeth's stepmother rushed over to Annabeth. "You look so pale!"

Percy wasn't sure if Annabeth's parents knew about monsters and the Greek world. "Annabeth was in a little, er, accident and needs rest. Dr. Chase?"

"Right!" Dr. Chase led Percy and Zoë to Annabeth's room. Percy set her down gently on her bed and dropped her backpack next to her bed.

"Dad, Percy and Zoë also need a place to rest...and something to eat..." Annabeth sighed and rolled over onto her side, falling asleep instantly.

"We should leave her to rest and close the door," Percy said. He glanced at the little boys Bobby and Matthew. "I don't mean to sound insulting, but I don't think Annabeth will sleep well when a...verbal war over robots is going on, Dr. Chase."

Dr. Chase nodded. "I suppose you're right." He closed the door quietly. He faced the two. "I don't have any spare beds, so you can take the boys' beds if you want. They can sleep on the sofas."

Percy shook his head. "It's alright, Dr. Chase. Zoë and I will just take the sofas."

Dr. Chase nodded. Annabeth's stepmother suddenly clapped her hands together. "Oh, you two must be hungry! Follow me!" She led Percy and Zoë to the living room. She gestured for them to sit down. Percy and Zoë sat down. "I'll bring some you some food to eat."

"Thank you, ma'am," Zoë said politely.

Mrs. Chase smiled kindly and went into the kitchen. Dr. Chase sat down from across Percy and Zoë. "What hurt Annabeth? Monsters?" _So he does know about monsters,_ Percy thought.

Percy shook his head. "Thalia. Thalia Grace. She betrayed us."

Dr. Chase sighed. "Thalia...she was always a good friend of Annabeth's. Why would she do such a thing?"

"Many people do things, good and bad, without any explanations. Sometimes the outcome is the best thing that can possibly happen. Sometimes...everything just goes down to dust. Thalia...I thought she was okay, but I was wrong." Percy scowled. "She _will_ answer for she's done."

Dr. Chase nodded. "Are you Annabeth's boyfriend?"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"Annabeth told me that she has a boyfriend. Sea green eyes, black hair...you seem to have those characteristics."

Percy nodded. "Ah, I see," Percy laughed. "I'm sorry, Dr. Chase, but I'm afraid you're mistaken. Annabeth is actually da—single now. She broke up with Orion a while back." Percy added that last part because he didn't want to say that Annabeth had any relationship with that spawn of Poseidon. And he was going to make sure that he would never hurt her again. "I wouldn't advise raising the topic to Annabeth. She's still a little sensitive about it."

Dr. Chase nodded. "I'll talk to her about it when she is ready. Are you all on a quest?"

Percy nodded. He briefly told what had happened so far.

Dr. Chase was a good listener. He laced his fingers together. "All this time, I was living right next to the base of the Titans?"

"I wouldn't suggest moving again, sir," Zoë said. "The Titans will not likely find out about you. Even if they do, they will most likely do nothing to harm you. I mean no offense, but the Titans have no concern for...regular mortals."

Dr. Chase nodded thoughtfully. Just then, Mrs. Chase brought over a tray laden with sandwiches full of lettuce, meat, and other things. There were also cans of Coke, bottles of water, and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. "Here's the food," she announced, placing the tray on the coffee table. "Enjoy."

Percy inclined his head politely. "Thank you, Mrs. Chase." Mrs. Chase smiled and walked away.

"Are you Annabeth's friends?" Percy and Zoë turned and saw Matthew and Bobby standing next to the sofa, staring at them curiously.

"Yeah," Percy said. "We are." He grabbed a can of Coke and opened it, taking a drink.

They stared at Percy and Zoë. "Are you two dating?" Percy burst out coughing. Zoë blushed a deep red and tried to fight it off as she patted Percy's back.

"We're not," Zoë said, as Percy was still choking. Percy nodded quickly.

"Y-yeah," Percy choked. "Augh, that burns..."

"I'll handle this," Dr. Chase said. He grabbed the two boys' shoulders and shepherded them away from the sofa.

Percy let out a sigh and the atmosphere calmed. He and Zoë ate silently, keeping their attention on anywhere except each other.

Eventually, Zoë let out a small yawn. Percy glanced at her and at the clock. "We should both get some sleep. It's getting pretty late, and we're going to need all the energy we can get for tomorrow."

Zoë nodded. Percy leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. He instantly fell asleep. After a while, Zoë also lied down and closed her eyes, falling into a deep slumber.

* * *

Zoë opened her eyes tiredly. She glanced at the clock. It was four thirty in the morning. She scowled, frustrated that she had to have woken up at such a time. It was worse because she was having the best dream ever: nothing.

Zoë sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes, exhausted. She glanced at Percy. He was still asleep with his hands behind his head and snored softly. Zoë looked away and around the house. It was completely dark and she could hear faint snoring coming from somewhere down the hallway.

Suddenly, she was blinded by a bright light. She closed her eyes on instinct and covered her eyes with her arms. When the light faded, she opened her eyes and drew a sharp breath. Percy was sitting up and staring blankly at her. His eyes were completely black. The creepiest part was that there was a symbol of an eye glowing eerily on Percy's forehead. Zoë suddenly saw flashes of images of horrific, gruesome things in her mind and she flinched.

Percy kept staring at her. His head tilted to the side a little and he grinned. Zoë couldn't help but shiver in fear. She felt like all her worst fears were coming to life and torturing her.

Suddenly, the eye disappeared and Percy fell back, asleep. Zoë panted in fear and wondered what she had just seen.

* * *

It was close to midnight. Percy, Zoë, and Annabeth had rested at Annabeth's house and waited until nighttime came. When Percy asked why, Zoë explained how one could only enter the Garden of the Hesperides at midnight. Now, they were driving toward Mount Tamalpais, where Mount Othrys was being rebuilt.

"Can't this car go any faster?" Percy groaned.

Zoë glared at him. "I can't exactly control traffic."

"You both sound like an old married couple," Annabeth muttered.

"Shut up!" they said in unison.

Zoë weaved through the traffic. When she got to the narrower roads, she still didn't slow down. Percy stared ahead at Mount Tamalpais, opening and closing his hand into a fist nervously.

The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and the trio kept driving straight toward them. The three were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog. Percy glanced down at the ocean as they passed a scenic curve, and he saw something that made him frown in confusion.

"Look!" Unfortunately, Zoë turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.

"What?" Zoë asked.

"A big white ship," Percy said. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship. Is this place usually a tourist attraction?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Luke's ship?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know what his ship looks like, so I have no idea."

"It has to be. He was bringing it to the Panama Canal, last time I checked. The only way he could bring that monster-infested ship here quickly is through the Panama."

Zoë grimaced. "Looks like we will have to deal with the Titan army as well, then."

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Percy's neck stood up. "Stop," he said.

"What?"

"Stop the car! Now!" Zoë obeyed and slammed the brakes. The car skidded to a stop. "Out!" Percy willed the shadows to grab Annabeth and open the door, throwing her out of the car. Percy tackled Zoë and the two flew out of the car. Ignoring the intimate position that the two were nearly in, Percy quickly cast a barrier of darkness around everyone. A massive lightning bolt came down, and the car exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere.

Percy looked up and saw a figure disappear into the fog above. He growled. "Thalia. It was her. She sent that bolt."

Annabeth scowled. "How could she do this to us? How could she betray us like this?" she yelled in anger.

Zoë got up. "Be quiet! Do you want to wake Ladon?"

Percy gulped. "One hundred headed dragon?" Zoë nodded. "Well, shit. Let's go before I lose my mind." The trio stepped into the fog, led by Zoë.

Percy looked around the garden. He raised an eyebrow, impressed. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples. As soon as Percy smelled their fragrance, he knew that one bite would be the most delicious thing that he'd ever tasted.

"The apples of immortality," Zoë said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."

"Not to mention guarded by the king of dragons," Percy said, looking at Ladon warily.

Suddenly, Percy heard an eerie song being sung. Shade formed in his hands and he raised it, but Zoë pushed his hand back down. The shadows shifted and four girls who looked just like Zoë stepped out.

"Sisters," Zoë said, stepping forward.

"We see no sister," one Hesperid said coldly. "We see two demigods and a Hunter, all who will die."

Zoë's eyes narrowed. "Let us pass. We must save Artemis."

"He is too powerful for you," another Hesperid said. "He will kill you in seconds."

"Let us pass!"

"You have no rights here now. We only have to raise our voices and Ladon will wake."

Zoë growled. Percy lifted his sword. "Let us pass, Hesperid," he said, pointing his sword at the lead Hesperid.

The Hesperides looked at Percy. "A nice sword, boy. Let's see how you do against Ladon." The lead girl turned to Ladon. "Ladon, wake!" The Hesperides disappeared into the shadows, smirking. "Fools..."

Ladon shifted and his heads writhed. He stood and regarded the trio coldly. Percy sneered. "Go, I'll distract him. Run up the mountain first. Make sure to stay in my sights."

"You'll die!" Zoë grabbed his arm. "You cannot defeat him! He is too powerful!"

"I don't need to defeat him! Now go!" Percy pushed Zoë towards the mountain. She and Annabeth began to run up the mountain towards the summit.

Ladon bared his teeth and glared at Percy. Percy grinned. "Come on, you old lizard. Attack me."

Ladon drew back several heads to strike, and that was when Percy made his move. He swung his hand out in front of him and yelled. The shadows exploded and massive waves of darkness slammed in Ladon again and again, stunning him. Percy gritted his teeth in pain. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his body shook from the amount of energy it was losing. Percy glanced at Zoë and Annabeth and saw that they were out of the garden and halfway up the mountain. He stopped his assault and the wave of darkness receded, covering him. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

Ladon waited for the shadows to clear. Once they did, he immediately snapped at where Percy would and could be. Ladon growled in confusion. Percy was no longer there.

Percy stumbled out of the shadows and fell into someone's arms, nearly unconscious. "Perseus, get a hold of yourself!" Zoë said.

Percy slowly stood up. He stumbled back. The shadows responded and wrapped around his body. He sighed in relief. "Let's go. I should be fully recovered by the time we reach the top."

Zoë nodded. The three began to hike up the mountain. "This place...the fortress of the Titans is rebuilding itself. This means that the Titans grow more powerful by the second. My father has already escaped and so have two other Titans. This is not good."

Annabeth frowned. "Your father is Atlas?"

Percy turned. "Do you have a problem with that, Annabeth?"

Annabeth shook her head. "I'm friends with you, aren't I?" she said a little playfully.

Percy grinned. "True, true. Alright, then."

"So Artemis is holding up the sky?" Annabeth asked.

Zoë nodded. "And freeing her will be no easy task."

* * *

The trio reached the summit and Zoë immediately ran towards Artemis, who was in chains. Her body shook from the effort of holding up the sky. She was covered in cuts and bruises. "Milady!" Zoë yelled. She tugged on the chains, but it was no use.

"No!" Artemis shouted. Her voice was strained. "It is a trap, Zoë! You must run!"

Zoë let out a sob and tugged harder on Artemis' chains.

"What a touching scene," a voice boomed. Percy recognized it. It was Atlas. Sure enough, he stepped out of the shadows. Another massive man stood next to him. He looked like Atlas, but older. Due to his powerful aura, Percy guessed that he was a Titan. On the other side of Atlas stood Luke and Thalia. "Oh, and this is Koios, my uncle. He was overjoyed to deal out punishment to his granddaughter."

"Luke," Annabeth growled. "What did you do to Thalia? Why did she betray us?"

Luke grinned. "A simple mind control spray that alters the Mist and forces Thalia to do whatever we want. She will be the demigod who destroys Olympus in the Great Prophecy."

"The Great what?" Percy said. He shook his head and grinned. "Never mind. Mist altering, you say? You're not the only one who can do that, Skywalker." Percy snapped his fingers.

Thalia's eyes cleared and she frowned. "Where am I?" Percy flicked his wrist and the shadows wrapped around Thalia, transporting her beside Annabeth. "What happened?"

"Luke Skywalker was controlling you," Percy explained.

Thalia's eyes widened and she glared at Luke. "You worthless little piece of crap!" she spat.

Atlas chuckled. "So much for old friends. And Zoë. How's my little traitor doing? I will enjoy ripping you apart."

Zoë's eyes narrowed and she made to call her father something very insulting, but Artemis stopped her. "Do not respond, any of you. Do not challenge him."

Percy wasn't listening to what Artemis said, however. "You're not going to touch my friends," he growled.

Atlas laughed. "And who are you, little boy?"

Percy smirked. "I'm just a nobody, so don't worry. But touch my friends and you won't live to see tomorrow," he snarled. A shadow wrapped around his body and his gleaming armor appeared on his body. Shade formed in his right hand and a black shield formed, strapped onto his left arm.

Atlas glared at Percy. "You have no right to interfere, little demigod. This is a family matter."

Percy's eyes narrowed. "You're right, _cousin_. This _is_ a family matter. Now go do your chore and take your place under the sky, before I make you."

Atlas laughed. "You are not match for a Titan, fool. Since Thalia is useless now, I will have Luke crush you, for fighting a pathetic demigod is beneath my dignity."

Percy frowned. "What dignity? It's surprising you have any after getting tricked by, let's see, Heracles, Zeus, Zeus twice, your own daughter, your brother, and who else is there again? I'm a little tired so I can't really remember the entire list."

Atlas' face turned murderous and red with rage. "Big words, demigod. But don't forget that you are only doing that because I cannot fight you without you making the first move. It is against the Ancient Laws."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Look, tomato man. You and freaking Bad Grandpa over there already broke the Ancient Laws by leaving your prisons, so shut up." He looked back at the others. They nodded slightly, ready to back Percy up in the fight.

Atlas growled. "Then come fight me, little demigod, if you dare!" His suit morphed into armor and a massive javelin appeared in his hands.

Percy shrugged. "Okay." Atlas seemed surprised that Percy just bluntly agreed to fight him.

A massive tendril of shadow shot out and smacked Atlas in the back of his head. The Titan stumbled forward and Percy lunged. He rolled under his feet and slammed his shield into the back of Atlas' knee. Atlas collapsed to one knee and Percy swung at the Titan's head, but he raised his javelin and blocked. Atlas then counterattacked. Percy dodged. Out of the corner of his eye, Percy saw the others rush into battle. He saw Annabeth and Thalia engage Luke in a battle. Zoë was taking on Koios on her own with her hunting knives, using her speed as an advantage. She dodged and weaved around his blows, occasionally striking and giving him a good-sized gash.

Percy quickly turned his attention back to Atlas. "A son of Hades!" Atlas growled. Percy grinned inwardly and silently sent a prayer to Hades to let him use Hades as a coverup for now. His best chance of winning was to use Atlas' ignorance of his powers and heritage against the Titan.

Atlas kept attacking, but he could only land small scratches on Percy. Percy made sure to stay on the defensive, trying to frustrate the Titan. Atlas jabbed and swung his javelin with blinding speed, but Percy ducked, dodged, blocked, and deflected every blow.

However, Atlas was still winning. He slowly pushed Percy back with his attacks. Percy grinned. He jumped back into a shadow and disappeared. He reappeared behind Atlas and slashed across the Titan's back. Atlas growled in pain and swung his javelin wildly as he spun but was met with empty air. Percy appeared to the Atlas' left, slicing a gash across the Titan's side and disappearing back into the shadows. As Atlas turned to face his left, Percy lunged out of a shadow to the Titan's right and slashed another gash across the Titan's right side. He quickly jumped back into the shadows.

Atlas winced in pain as golden ichor leaked from his body. Atlas backed himself up against a wall where he waited for Percy to appear again. Percy reappeared to his left again but his strike was blocked by the Titan's javelin. Atlas rushed forward quickly before Percy could disappear, grabbing his shield and ripping it from Percy's arm and tossing it aside. Atlas feinted an attack to Percy's left and Percy went to block, but instead he received a powerful kick to the chest sending him back a few feet.

Percy rolled backwards to his feet and got up. He glanced at Zoë, who seemed to be having a difficult time as well. He cursed in Ancient Greek and faced Atlas, scowling. Somehow, he had to end this quickly. He grimaced, knowing that what he was about to do was going to hurt. He yelled and Atlas was surrounded by a wall of darkness. Percy vanished into the shadows and slashed again and again, teleporting at the end of every slash. In a second, Atlas was covered in six new gashes.

Atlas bellowed in pain and snarled. "I will tear you apart, demigod! I will kill you!"

Percy saw Thalia and Annabeth overcome Luke. The blond teenager snarled and disappeared in a flash of green light. In his place were several dracaenae. Annabeth and Thalia quickly lunged at them, cutting through the monsters. Percy turned back to Atlas. He ignored his aching muscles and grinned at Atlas. "Not there yet, Titan."

Atlas roared and charged again. He swung his javelin at Percy, but Percy lunged forward and went into a baseball slide, sliding under the Titan's feet. He sliced the Titan's legs and for good measure, slammed Atlas in his jewels with a fist.

Atlas choked and yelled in pain at the same time. He collapsed to his knees. Percy lunged forward to deliver the final blow, but Atlas recovered faster than thought possible and with the blunt end of his javelin, slammed Percy into the ground. Percy quickly rolled out of the way of Atlas' second thrust, which impaled the stone floor. As Percy stood up, Atlas rushed forward and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying. Percy slammed into a black wall and fell to the ground, groaning.

"Where's that confidence of yours from before now, boy?" Atlas mocked.

Percy swung his arm sideways and the shadows responded, knocking Atlas off of his feet. Percy quickly grabbed his sword and lunged, but Percy was slammed in the chest by Atlas' javelin. He felt the chest plate of his armor shatter. He flew back and slammed into the ground painfully.

Faster than he thought possible, Percy found himself pinned to the ground by Atlas' boot. Atlas raised his javelin to finish him off. "NO!" Percy heard Zoë yelled. A bunch of arrows impaled Atlas' armpit. Percy glanced to his right and saw Zoë get kicked in the stomach by Koios. Percy turned and quickly summoned a shadow. The shadow slammed into Atlas and sent him flying back.

Percy suddenly heard Zoë scream in pain. As he turned to look, Atlas drove his javelin through his arm. Percy yelled in pain and Atlas threw Percy's sword behind him. He then punched Percy in the chest and slammed him into the ground. The javelin stuck into the ground, keeping Percy's arm stuck. Atlas grinned victoriously and twisted his javelin. Percy yelled in pain and raised his free hand, but Atlas pinned it against the floor with his foot. Atlas raised his hand and another javelin appeared in it. He raised it to impale Percy.

"Wait, nephew," Koios called. "Release the boy."

Atlas wrenched his javelin out of Percy's arm and kicked him towards Koios. Percy looked up and his eyes widened. "_ZOË!_" he screamed. Koios had Zoë in a headlock. She was struggling in vain to escape. Koios grinned and dropped her. Zoë crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Percy ignored the pain in his body and rushed over. He shook Zoë's shoulders. "Zoë! Zoë! _ZOË!_" He got a closer look at her and saw a scar on her right arm. There were words. They read:

_I am a Traitor_

Percy felt a surge of rage rush through him. How dare they do this to her?! His head pounded in pain and he felt a massive amount of energy suddenly rush through him.

Koios grinned and backed up. "Let him worry about his little friend before we kill him," Atlas said, also grinning. "I want to see him suffer."

Koios looked back at Artemis, who was crying. "And I want to see my granddaughter suffer."

**_"Well, too bad for you then,"_** a voice said. Everyone in the room froze at the voice. It radiated power and rage. It sounded like a man and woman were speaking at the same time.

Everyone stared at Percy in shock. He stood up and had his back facing everyone. **_"Normally, I'd kill you immediately for touching my friend, but this time I'll make an exception. The only ones suffering...will be you." _**Percy turned around. His wounds were completely healed. The Titans froze at the sight. His eyes were completely black and glowed. The shadows writhed violently and a massive black fog began to settle at everyone's feet. A black aura formed around Percy's body and wisps of darkness rolled off of his body. The thing that scared the Titans the most was the glowing symbol of an eye on Percy's forehead. It seemed to reach into their minds and bring forth their worst nightmares. For the first time in his immortal life, Atlas paled in fear.

Percy grinned, looking almost insane. He pointed at the two Titans. **_"Let's have a little fun, shall we?"_**

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, review and tell me what you think. Also, as always, suggestions are welcome. **

_**NOTE: **_**The next chapter will be rather short, but it will be an important chapter. Also, to make up for the coming chapter's shortness, this chapter is the longest chapter I have written for this story so far. **


	7. The Prophecy's Final Line

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

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***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

**_"Normally, I'd kill you immediately for touching my friend, but this time I'll make an exception. The only ones suffering...will be you." _**Percy turned around. His wounds were completely healed. The Titans froze at the sight. His eyes were completely black and glowed. The shadows writhed violently and a massive black fog began to settle at everyone's feet. A black aura formed around Percy's body and wisps of darkness rolled off of his body. The thing that scared the Titans the most was the glowing symbol of an eye on Percy's forehead. It seemed to reach into their minds and bring forth their worst nightmares. For the first time in his immortal life, Atlas paled.

Percy grinned, looking almost insane. He pointed at the two Titans. **_"Let's have a little fun, shall we?"_**

Koios narrowed his eyes at Percy. "What are you?"

Percy grinned even more. **_"There's no need for you to know, Titan. After all, you'll be dead by the time I leave this place. But if you want to know, I am the enforcer of fate. I am darkness. I am destiny. I am the one who will destroy you. The Gate of Fate has been opened." _**He held out his hand and a scepter appeared in his hands. The scepter had a three dimensional figure of the eye on Percy's forehead on one end. It glowed with immense power. **_"Now then. Who wants to play first?"_**

Koios growled. "Play?! I challenge you to a fight, you abomination!"

Percy roared with laughter. Everyone couldn't help but shiver at everything action that Percy did. His aura was that powerful and that overwhelming. **_"A fighting game, then."_** Percy said gleefully in that creepy male/female voice. His grin never disappeared. **_"The rules are simple. Fight until an opponent is defeated. The loser will be killed in any way that the winner desires."_**

Koios grinned and drew his massive sword. "Very well. Come on, then, child! Show me your power!" Atlas made to also draw his javelin, but Koios stopped him. "No, nephew. Let me teach this upstart a lesson first. Then you can have your fun with him." Atlas grinned with anticipation and stepped back.

Percy grinned, amused at what the Titan was saying. He spun his scepter.**_ "Match, start!"_**

Koios rushed at Percy with blinding speed and swung his blade at Percy, but Percy just grinned and dodged easily. Koios kept swinging his sword, but Percy kept on dodging. He didn't even bother to attack. After being toyed with for almost a minute, Koios' rage took over and his attacks became more wild and powerful. "Fight me, you coward!" Koios bellowed. He swung downwards at Percy's head, but Percy just stepped to the side, smirking. "I'll kill you!"

_**"I have still yet to be injured, Titan."**_ Percy ducked under a swing. He backed up and spun his scepter lazily.

"Fight me!"

Percy smirked. He inclined his head a little mockingly. _**"As you wish."**_

Koios rushed forward and stabbed at Percy's stomach, but Percy twisted out of the way. By the time Koios finished his strike, Percy was already behind him. Percy tapped the Titan on the back and a ball of energy erupted from the eye on one end of the scepter, sending Koios forward. The Titan slammed into a wall painfully, falling to the ground with a groan. Koios got up unsteadily and leaned on his sword. "I will destroy you, boy!" He rushed at Percy with an overhand swing, but Percy just grinned and held out his free hand. An invisible shock wave exploded from Percy's hand, blasting Koios back.

Percy walked up to Koios and sneered down at the Titan. Koios couldn't help but feel immense fear as he looked into Percy's eyes._** "You Titans have always had the vain belief that you were the superior beings of the universe. You are wrong. Titans...they are the lesser beings. Imperfect and weak. We Primordials are the true superior beings of the universe. After all, we were the ones who created it."**_ Next to Percy, Zoë was beginning to stir. Percy glanced at her and turned his attention back to Koios.

"What are you blabbering about, boy?!" Koios demanded. "Of course, we Titans are the superior race! We've ruled the Earth for eons before we were betrayed by my youngest brother's wretched children! And besides, you are a mere demigod! How could you possibly be a Primordial God?"

Percy grinned. _**"There are many things you have yet to learn about me, Titan. First of all,"** _Percy turned to Atlas. _**"I am no son of Hades. I am the son of Erebus, the Primordial God of darkness and all mists. If not for the fact that you are a worthless being who has no place in this universe, I would force you to bow down to me, you mongrels. How dare you insult the race of the Protogenoi?"**_

"You are not even a Primordial!" Atlas yelled.

Percy chuckled. He lifted his hair up with his hand, revealing the glowing eye symbol on his forehead.**_ "This symbol is the Eye of Fate, or the All Seeing Eye. The mortals know it as the Eye of Providence or the All Seeing Eye of God. Furthermore, only a being of the Primordial race can wield such a weapon, meaning that I am indeed a Primordial."  
_**

"A weapon?" Koios growled. "That puny thing? Bah, it looks more like a target to me."

Percy grinned evilly.**_ "The Eye of Fate gives one the ability to summon the Gate of Fate. A one way ticket to the Void of Chaos. A place where only he and God can return from. Lose the fight against me, and that is where you will go."_**

"Never!" Koios grabbed his sword and lunged at Percy, who sidestepped and slammed his scepter against the Titan's head, sending him tumbling to the ground. Zoë slowly opened her eyes and they widened when she saw Percy walk over to Koios and slam his foot against the Titan's chest. Koios groaned in pain.

Percy grinned. **_"It seems that I've won, Titan. Prepare yourself for the Void."_**

Percy turned and started to step away. "I'm not done yet, you filthy Primordial spawn!"

Koios grabbed Percy's scepter desperately. Percy turned and Koios froze with fear under Percy's gaze. His grin was gone and was replaced with a cold frown. The eye symbol on his forehead glowed brighter than ever. Koios felt his body shake with fear as Percy stared at him. **_"How pathetic..." _**Koios looked at the eye symbol and shivered. The eye looked just like the eye symbol that Koios had once seen on the Primordial—.

_**"Time for your retribution."** _Percy's eyes flashed and his scepter glowed. The air behind Koios rippled and a massive spinning black gate appeared. There were hieroglyphs written on the ends of the gate. The gate stopped spinning and opened, revealing a portal to what seemed like nothing, for that was exactly what it was. A gateway to the nothingness of the Void.

Koios felt himself get pulled into the gate. "N-no! NO!" He clawed at the floor, but the gate kept pulling him.

Percy grinned crookedly and pointed at Koios. **_"The Gate of Fate has been opened." _**With a scream, Koios was sucked into the gate. The gate closed with a slam and faded, leaving no evidence of it having ever existed.

Zoë was shocked. She sat up slowly, wincing in pain. She clutched her throbbing arm and stared at Percy. After seeing how he killed Koios, she couldn't help but feel fearful of him. "Percy?" She suddenly felt an arm wrap around her neck, holding her in a headlock. She was lifted off the ground and she cried out in pain. She struggled against her father's grip, but he was too powerful.

Percy turned. His eyes narrowed slightly. _**"Let her go, Titan or I will rip your body into shreds and scatter your bloody pieces in the Void."**_

Atlas growled. "You killed my uncle. You might kill me and if you do, I will take my traitorous daughter with me!"

The Titan raised his javelin to impale Zoë. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for the end. "_NO!_" she heard Artemis scream.

The javelin never came. Zoë opened her eyes slowly and saw that it was frozen an inch from her chest. Suddenly, Atlas walked towards Percy and dropped her next to his feet. Zoë got up unsteadily and stared at her father, wondering what was going on. Apparently, so was he, for he yelled, "What have you done to me?!"

Percy smirked. _**"The Eye of Fate also grants me full control over the fate of any being except that of a Primordial."**_ He snapped his fingers and a long gray string shaped in the infinity symbol appeared. _**"Do you know what this is, Titan?"**_ Atlas glared at Percy and did not answer. Percy's smirk widened. _**"Allow me to give you a hint."**_ The Eye of Fate symbol on Percy's head glowed brightly and he twisted the string a little. Atlas groaned in pain and collapsed to his knees. Percy twisted the string even more and Atlas' groan turned into a roar of pain.

"What is this?!" Atlas bellowed in agony.

Percy grinned. _**"This is your life string, Titan."**_ Everyone in the room gasped. Zoë stared at the string in shock. _**"And I have full control over it."**_

Atlas growled and shot up. He summoned his javelin and charged at Percy, yelling. Percy snapped his fingers and the life string twisted. Atlas stumbled and fell onto his face like a drunk man. "This must be some sort of trick!"

Percy's grin widened. _**"Trick? No, Titan. This is not a trick. Would this be a trick?"** _Percy tapped the life string with his scepter and a tiny cut appeared on it. Zoë watched her father with trepidation, wondering what was going to happen. Suddenly, a massive cut starting from Atlas' left shoulder and traveling all the way down to his right hip appeared. Atlas bellowed in pain and clutched his chest. Golden ichor poured from the wound. While everybody watched in horror, Percy laughed. _**"You Titans. Always believing that you are invincible because of your power and immortality. I wonder what would happen if somebody took that power away?"**_ Percy made a slashing gesture with his scepter and the life string cut. The infinity symbol collapsed and the life string turned into one long string. Atlas groaned and collapsed to his knees. Zoë watched in horror as her father's blood turned red.

Percy had made Atlas mortal. "What have you done?" Atlas groaned. Percy smirked and twirled his scepter. Atlas' life string reconnected at the ends and reformed the infinity symbol.

_**"Like your uncle, we're going to play a little game, Atlas. A game of fate."** _Atlas looked fearful. Percy grinned. The look in his eyes made Zoë wonder whether he was insane or not. **_"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. After all, we can't have poor Artemis over there hold up the sky for all eternity, now can we?"_** The second Percy said that, Zoë figured it out. He already knew what the outcome was going to be. Even if he didn't, he could easily force Atlas to return to holding up the sky.

"What is the game?" Atlas demanded. He slowly got up and his javelin appeared in his hands.

Percy raised an eyebrow, looking deeply amused. _**"The game is simple. Here are the rules. I won't use your life string and I won't kill you. If I lose, you get to kill me however you wish."** _Atlas' life string vanished. _**"But don't forget that there is a goal that must be achieved in the game. It's a simple goal really. Not too difficult, if I may say so myself."**_

Atlas seemed to perk up at this. "What is the goal?" Atlas growled, grabbing his javelin tightly, ready to lunge at Percy and impale him.

Percy's eyes gleamed. _**"Stay sane."**_ Atlas' eyes widened and a wall of shadows surrounded him. Suddenly, Zoë heard her father scream agony and fear. **_"You are the god of strength and endurance. Let's see how long _your_ strength and endurance lasts!"_** Atlas' cries grew louder. Just when Zoë thought figured that Atlas wouldn't be able to take anymore, the shadows receded, revealing a shaking Atlas, who was muttering incoherent things. Percy scoffed. _**"Psh...he didn't even last a minute." **_

Percy walked over to Atlas. _**"You lost, Titan. Now for your retribution."** _He kicked Atlas over and Atlas stared up at his Eye of Fate with wide eyes. The Eye of Fate glowed brightly. _**"The Eye of Fate compels you,"** _Percy said. Like with Koios, his gaze was cold and merciless. **_"Your inevitable fate awaits you. The necessity...you can feel it, can't you?"_**

Zoë saw something in Atlas' eyes snap. "Yes! Yes! I can feel it! I need it!" Atlas shot up and ran towards Artemis. Zoë was about to yell at Percy, but she stopped when she saw the amused expression on his face. She turned back to Atlas and watched.

Atlas ran up to Artemis and stomped on her chains. "It's MINE!" he screamed. He pushed Artemis out from under the sky and held it. He was laughing with joy, but at the same time, tears fell from his eyes. "Mine...mine...mine..." Atlas kept on chuckling. Zoë realized what Atlas' punishment was.

Insanity.

Suddenly, Percy fell back onto the ground, unconscious. The Eye of Fate faded from view and his overwhelming aura disappeared. The only evidence of what Percy's powers were was a blabbing Titan.

* * *

Percy groaned. He got up and slowly opened his eyes. They widened. "Zoë!" Percy looked around.

"I'm here, Perseus." Percy turned and saw Zoë sitting next to him. He finally realized that he was surrounded by his friends, along with Artemis.

"Lady Artemis." Percy bowed his head politely. He turned to the others. "What happened?"

"You fainted after killing Koios and driving Atlas insane," Annabeth explained. She seemed afraid of Percy.

Percy frowned. "What are you talking about? Last thing I remember is that Zoë had fallen unconscious and that Atlas was about to kill me..."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "You don't remember anything else after that?"

Percy shook his head. "No. So...what happened?" He glanced around and realized that he was sitting in a field. "Where are we?"

"That is something I would have liked to ask you, Percy," Artemis said. Her wounds seemed to have healed. "For your second question, we are out of the reach of the Titans. For your first question...we will tell you what happened, and I hope that you can provide us with some answers."

The girls explained what had happened on Mount Othrys. Percy listened silently. When they finished, he shook his head in amazement. "_I_ did that? I don't get it. I'm a son of Erebus. Handling fate is something that only my sisters do."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Sisters?"

"The Fates."

"...Ah."

"Anyways...this Eye of Fate thing and everything else...now that you mention it, it sounds a little familiar. It's like it's at the tip of my tongue. When I was unconscious, I felt like I was still awake at the same time. I felt like there was something else in my mind, controlling me."

Zoë frowned. "Controlling you?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah." Then it clicked in his mind. "Wait, you aren't dead!"

Zoë smiled a little and nodded. "You saved my life."

Percy grinned. "Awesome." Then he frowned. "So the prophecy was wrong?"

Artemis seemed troubled, but she nodded. "That is what it seems like. However, it could be that this is not over."

"Yes, it is not," a voice growled. Percy turned and saw his father standing not far off, holding a bow and arrow made out of darkness. The arrow was aimed at Thalia's chest.

Percy immediately stood up and so did Thalia. "Dad, what are you doing?" Percy demanded. He knew that when a Primordial struck a mortal, the mortal would die no matter what and no god could do anything to save him/her.

"That daughter of Zeus cannot be trusted," Erebus said. "She betrayed you, and nearly killed you. You have too big a role to play to die. She must pay for her actions."

"She's innocent!"

Erebus' eyes narrowed. "Not in the eyes of the Protogenoi."

He let go of the bowstring. Percy's eyes widened. "_NO!_" He pushed Thalia out of the way and created a barrier of darkness around him. The arrow shot right through the barrier and pierced Percy's heart.

As he fell and as the world went dark, Percy remembered the last line of the prophecy. _"And one shall perish by a parent's hand."_

* * *

**I decided to just update the chapter in the same day, for ****I will be gone for the next few days on a trip. While I'm gone, I expect lots of reviews from you all. Who knows? I might not post a new chapter until we reach 100 reviews...jk, jk. **

**Maybe.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always, review and if you want, give some suggestions for the story. **


	8. She Must Die

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

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* * *

He let go of the bowstring. Percy's eyes widened. "NO!" He pushed Thalia out of the way and created a barrier of darkness around him. The arrow shot right through the barrier and pierced Percy's heart.

As he fell and as the world went dark, Percy remembered the last line of the prophecy. _"And one shall perish by a parent's hand."_

"Percy!" Thalia grabbed before he could fall. "Percy! Wake up!" Percy didn't answer.

Erebus stared down at his dead son. "No..."

"Percy!" Everyone rushed to his side. Artemis placed her hand on Percy's wound and ripped out the arrow. She sent a stream of silver light into his body. The wound didn't heal. Artemis frowned and bathed his body with silver light. Nothing. Artemis shook her head sadly to the others.

Thalia turned to Erebus. "How could you kill your own son?!" she yelled.

Erebus glared at her. "That was not what I had planned to do."

Zoë stared down at Percy's unmoving body, remembering the prophecy's words. "One will perish by a parent's hand," she muttered softly. "But why did it have to be you?"

Erebus' eyes swirled with sadness and anguish. "I will take his body and give him his final rites." No one argued. Erebus reached for Percy's body, but then he froze. His eyes widened as the Eye of Fate symbol reappeared on Percy's forehead.

"It's the Eye of Fate again!" Annabeth said, shocked.

Erebus turned to her sharply. "The what?" he said disbelievingly.

Annabeth fidgeted under Erebus' gaze. "The Eye of Fate. Percy said that it allows him to control anyone's fate and—"

"I know what it is, girl." Erebus stared at the symbol. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. He growled. "You gave him the Mantle of Fate..." Erebus scowled and he stood up. "I must go. There is someone I have to talk to."

"What about Percy?" Thalia demanded. "You're just going to leave him here?"

Erebus sighed. "He will wake up in a few moments."

"What?"

"The Eye of Fate protects him. When it appears, it means that Percy is basically invulnerable. It would take much more than an arrow wound—even from a Primordial—to kill him. He will be fine." Erebus began to dissolve into the shadows. "Tell him I'm sorry for my actions. I will leave you all, but remember this. Anyone who betrays my son will face the wrath of every child of the night and darkness." Erebus dissolved into the shadows.

Suddenly, Percy coughed and sat up, groaning. He clutched his chest in pain. "What the hell happened?" The Eye of Fate vanished.

The others stared at him in shock. "The Eye of Fate saved your life," Zoë finally said. _At least, that's what it seemed like..._ she thought.

"That thing on my forehead?"

Zoë nodded. "Is it gone?" Percy asked.

"It just disappeared."

"And my father?"

"He left a while ago. And he wants you to know that he regrets his actions."

Percy nodded. "Well, he's forgiven, although that was a pretty dick move right there. Anyways, since nobody died, I'm guessing the prophecy was incomplete?"

"That is what it seems like. We still cannot be sure."

Percy nodded. Then he noticed that Zoë's injury was still left untreated. He frowned. "I don't want to sound offending, but when the hell are you going to get that treated?"

Zoë covered her injury quickly when Annabeth and Thalia tried to look at it. Artemis glanced at the injury and held out her hand. "Zoë, give me your arm." Zoë held out her arm and Artemis placed a hand over it. A stream of silver light shot into the wound and the wound closed, eventually leaving no trace of an injury.

Zoë nodded gratefully. "Thank you, milady." Artemis nodded back.

Percy turned to Artemis. "Lady Artemis, the winter solstice is today, right?"

"Yes," Artemis said, standing up. "I must take my leave. We must go to Olympus. Prepare yourselves." Everyone was bathed in silver light. Zoë felt her stomach flip.

They reappeared in the throne room of Olympus. The Olympians were all present for the winter solstice meeting. Artemis grew in height and took her seat at her throne.

"The winter solstice meeting will now commence," Zeus announced.

* * *

The gods argued back and forth, trying to decide how to take action. Eventually, the majority of them agreed to take action against the Titans. Some of the gods didn't agree, but they were overruled by the ones that did.

"It is decided," Zeus said. "Artemis and Apollo will hunt the most powerful monsters before the Titans get the chance to use them. Poseidon will be given full permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. Athena will personally check on the other Titans to ensure that they do not escape their prisons. Now what shall we do with these young heroes?"

Artemis stood. "These heroes have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?" She looked at every god and goddess in the room.

"I gotta say," Apollo said, breaking the silence. "These kids did okay." He cleared his throat to start a haiku, but Hermes quickly interrupted him.

"Um, yes, first class. All in favor of not blasting them to pieces?"

Demeter's and Artemis' hands were the first to go up. A few tentative hands followed. Ares sat forward. "Now wait just a minute," he growled. He pointed at Percy and Thalia. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much better if we get rid of them now and not risk dying later."

Percy's eyes narrowed. "It'd be much better if somebody just got rid of you, but then again, we don't always get what we want."

Ares sneered. "Watch it, kid. My mercy has limits."

"And so does mine," Percy said. "If you're looking for a fight, then you've got one, Olympian."

Ares made to grab his sword, but a grape vine grabbed his arm and pulled it down.

"Oh, please, Ares, save the killing for later," Dionysus sighed.

Ares growled. He tore off the grape vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect this brat?"

Dionysus gazed down at Percy with weary eyes. "I have no love for him, but I do not think that it would be wise to become his enemy. I think he has made it quite clear that he can be a powerful enemy."

Percy nodded to Dionysus gratefully. Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods...such as Thalia and Percy...are dangerous. As thickheaded as he is, Ares has a point. There is a risk with keeping them alive."

"Mother!" Annabeth said angrily. "How can you—"

Percy placed a hand on Annabeth's arm, stopping her. He scowled at Athena. "I have a lot of respect for you, Athena, but if you call me a son of Zeus or Poseidon again, I will not forgive you. I am a son of Erebus. Poseidon might partially be my birth father, but he is no father of mine." Percy turned and faced every god and goddess in the room. "I suggest you do well to remember that. If any of you call me a son of Poseidon, then the Titans will have gained a new ally."

Several Olympians stared down at Percy with angry looks, but he didn't back down. Athena looked at Percy with an emotionless expression, but Percy could see the anger in her eyes. "It would not be wise for you to threaten us like that, Percy Jackson."

"And it wouldn't be wise for you to threaten me like that. When Thalia was under Luke Castellan's control, she tried to kill me. My father came later and attempted to kill her himself. If not for my interference, he would have succeeded. Imagine how he would react if you tried to kill me."

"Hiding behind daddy, are we?" Ares jeered.

Percy smirked. "Not really. A fight against someone like you is pointless, and I would just tell my father to leave. Even against me, you wouldn't last a few minutes. After all, what good is a god when he gets defeated by a small rock to the face?"

Ares' face turned red with anger. "That's it, kid." He got up, drawing his sword. Just as he was about to charge, the war god was blasted back onto his throne by an invisible force. The gods cried out in surprise and looked around.

Zoë also looked around the throne room to see who could have done such a thing. Then she looked at Percy, but she became confused when she saw him looking at the shadows with an annoyed expression. She looked at what he was staring at and saw the shadows shifting. The gods seemed to finally notice this as well.

Suddenly, three old ladies stepped out from the shadows. Their eyes glowed with power. They each held a knitting kit. One of the ladies held a ball of yarn. The one next to the first was holding a measuring rod. The third was holding a massive pair of scissors. Zoë's eyes widened in fear and surprise as she recognized the three ladies. "The Fates..." she whispered in shock. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Percy narrow his eyes suspiciously at the Fates.

Zeus stood. "Lady Fates, what are you doing here?" he asked. The Fates ignored him and stared at Percy.

"We must speak with Perseus," the Fate with the scissors said.

Percy scowled. He stared at the Fates with narrowed eyes. "It isn't like you to just barge in all of a sudden. What do you want?"

The Fates sneered. "You've altered the course of fate, _brother_," the same lady said. She gripped her scissors tightly, as if she were planning to attack Percy with them. The gods in the room leaned away from the Fates, for they were afraid of the wrath of the Fates. Annabeth and Thalia stepped back uneasily. Zoë wanted to back away, but something told her not to.

Percy, unlike everyone else in the room, didn't seem afraid at all. He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then why don't you enlighten me on how a demigod like me changed fate, Atropos."

Atropos' eyes narrowed. "This girl was supposed to die on this quest," she growled, pointing at Zoë. "Atlas should have killed her and thus fulfilling the prophecy's final line. Somehow you intervened and not only did you save Zoë, you caused Koios to fade and you drove Atlas insane. Zoë Nightshade is not supposed to stay alive."

Percy shrugged. "Alright, I'll admit, that part may have been my fault. But anyways, now that you've given me your little lecture, are we done here?" Zoë was shocked at how casually Percy was acting around the Fate of Death.

Atropos shook her head. "We did not come here to lecture you, brother, as you would never listen. We came here to make things right and make sure that the prophecy plays out the way it should." Zoë paled at what Atropos said. The Fates had come to kill her.

Percy's eyes widened and then narrowed. He shook his head, glaring at the Fates. "No. You are not touching her," he growled, moving in front of Zoë protectively. "I've already lost one friend in this quest. I am not losing another."

Atropos scowled. "You have no choice, Perseus. She must die. She cannot escape the clutches of fate."

Percy scoffed. "So that's what it's about? You're so desperate to get your little prize that you can't give up one life?" Percy tilted his head slightly to the right. "There's billions of people out there. Kill someone else. Kill ten people, a hundred people, I don't care. You are not going to kill her. You want her? Then you'll have to go through me." The shadows shifted dangerously. Zoë felt a surge of gratitude towards Percy. She had never thought that he would stand up to the Fates themselves to save her.

Atropos sneered. "You insolent little—"

"That's enough, Atropos," a deep male voice said. A man dressed in all black walked out of the shadows. He had black hair and black eyes, like the night. Zoë noticed that the man looked just like Erebus. He had bright white eyes that shone like the stars in the nighttime sky and his body seemed composed of smoke and ash. It was constantly turning from solid to smoke. Then Zoë felt the aura. The man didn't look like much compared to some other gods Zoë had seen in her lifetime, but his aura easily overwhelmed the aura that all the Olympians were emitting combined. Was this an immortal child of Erebus and Nyx?

Zeus glared down at the newcomer. "Identify yourself!"

"Night," Percy said, frowning in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Night grinned slightly. Zoë noticed that it was the same crooked grin that Percy often had. "Well, it _is_ my shift, so I thought I'd drop on by and see my favorite demigod brother," he said, spreading his arms.

Percy raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I'm your _only_ demigod brother."

"What's your point?"

Percy shook his head. "Anyways, why are you here? I know that you haven't come here to just say hi."

Night sighed. "We need to talk," he said after a while.

Percy frowned. "Alright, then. Talk."

Night hesitated. "Our sisters are right, Percy. Zoë can't stay alive. There's too much of an imbalance in fate. She can no longer be a Hunter. Thalia Grace was supposed to take over the rank of Lieutenant for the Hunters. If Zoë doesn't die, then fate will stray from its intended course and if that happens, chaos will ensue."

Percy grabbed Zoë's arm and push her behind him. Normally, she would have punched him for doing so, but she was too afraid. After all, it wasn't everyday that the enforcers of fate itself came to tell her that she had to die. Percy scowled. "No. I don't care if the entire world falls; I will not sacrifice my friend just so that fate plays out the way that our sisters want. And besides, what the hell do you mean by 'chaos will ensue?' Fate is already bad enough as it is. The only thing our sisters are good at is taking away peoples' loved ones." He glared at Fates. "You've already killed my mother after making her live one of the worst lives possible. I'm not going to let you kill anyone else close to me."

The Fates sneered at Percy. "In this war, some of your friends will die. That is inevitable."

Percy clenched his jaw. "If you kill them for a good cause, then so be it. But I won't let you kill my friend over a matter as stupid and worthless as this. If you're that bad at controlling fate, then go to Aunt Ananke and ask her to help you."

Night sighed. "Percy, I don't want to do this to you, and neither do our sisters. They're just trying to—"

"That's bullshit. They're sadistic, messed up animals who take pleasure only from causing pain." Percy jabbed a finger at Night. "I don't care what they say or what they do. I will not sacrifice my friend just so that they can have an easier time with their jobs."

Night exhaled out of his nose and stroked his chin. "You're that stubborn, eh?" Percy nodded stiffly. Night frowned, deep in thought. He had the same brooding look as Percy did. "Maybe...are you sure about this, Perce?" Percy nodded again. Night turned and said something to the Fates in a language Zoë couldn't understand and they said something back to Night in the same language. Zoë glanced at Percy, whose face was softening by a degree. Zoë guessed that whatever it was the Fates and Night were talking about, Percy could understand it and he wasn't against it.

"Alright." Night turned around. He faced Artemis. "Lady Artemis, I tried to convince my sisters to let Zoë be, but they refused." Artemis paled and looked like she wanted to speak up, but Night held up a hand. "Before you speak, please let me finish. After a little arguing, we formed a compromise. We have an ultimatum for you. Either Zoë dies, or she leaves the Hunt permanently, becoming mortal. Either way, she can no longer be a Huntress, and Thalia Grace must replace her as Lieutenant. Take your time to choose your decision." Thalia seemed relieved but at the same time, a little worried.

"I'll let Zoë out of the Hunt," Artemis said immediately, looking at Zoë apologetically. Zoë nodded in understanding. Night gestured towards Zoë. Artemis hesitated and then held out her hand. Zoë suddenly felt weaker and less graceful than she was. She knew that her blessing was gone.

Night nodded in satisfaction. He turned to Percy. "We'll take our leave now." He gestured for the Fates to come to where he was. The Fates approached and stood in front of him and Percy. Night gestured with his hands. "Alright, you four. Shake hands."

"_What?_" Percy turned to Night angrily. "I am not shaking that filthy murderer's hand!" he growled, pointing at Atropos.

Night rolled his eyes. "Just do it, dude. Do you have any idea how many headaches you two cause to the rest of us?"

Percy sighed angrily. "Fine." He held out his hand for Atropos to shake. Atropos narrowed her eyes at him and took his hand. Almost instantly, both Atropos and Percy let out a cry of pain and backed away, clutching their hands. "What the hell was that?!" Percy groaned, stepping back.

Atropos' wound healed almost instantly. She stood up straight and looked at him. Her eyes widened as she stared at Percy's forehead, where the Eye of Fate was now glowing. "The Mantle of Fate..." she whispered.

Night stared at Percy. "No way..."

Percy grimaced and the shadows wrapped around his hand. He looked at Night and Atropos. "What?" The eye faded.

Night checked his nonexistent watch on his wrist. "Oh, would you look at the time! Well, I better go. See ya!" He turned into smoke and disappeared. The Fates also flashed out.

Percy growled in anger. "Could have at least told me what the Mantle of Fate is, you know," he called. There was no answer, but Percy knew the Fates and Night were listening. He turned to the gods. "Anyways, so you're not going to kill any of us, you're going actually get off your lazy asses and fight the Titans, and you're not going to be all whiny like the pathetic excuse for a war god over there. Any questions? No? Alright."

He turned to leave, but Zeus stood up. "What about that daughter of Atlas? She cannot be permitted to roam the world freely. She might betray us. I will not allow her to freely travel around."

Percy turned around and faced Zeus. "Alright, Kim Jong Il, look. Zoë's been in the Hunt for two thousand years after being betrayed by your son Kim Jong Un—uh, Heracles, her sisters, and her father, and she has never shown any sign of being on the side of the Titans. Now I understand that all that electricity frying your pea-sized brain made you all hyper and paranoid, but I can assure you that Zoë will not betray Olympus. And if she does, it's probably going to either be Ares' or your fault, because honestly, Dionysus is less of a dick than you are."

The room was silent. Percy smirked. "And don't bother with your little lightning bolt. I've already blocked it before, remember?"

Zeus narrowed his eyes. His nostrils flared. "How dare you treat me with such disrespect?" he thundered. Thunder boomed from outside and lightning flashed.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I said that I don't have any respect for you. Or did you forget that as well? I mean seriously, what kind of husband who cheats on his wife thinks that he has the right to chain her above the Void of Chaos? Think about that." Percy snapped his fingers and a shadow engulfed him, Annabeth, and Zoë. Before he teleported, he looked at Thalia. "Once you pledge yourself to Artemis, run into the shadows and you'll teleport to Camp Half-Blood."

Percy, Zoë, and Annabeth reappeared in front of the Big House. Percy walked in and saw Chiron on his wheelchair. Chiron looked up. His eyes widened in surprise. "Percy. You're back." He looked around. "But where is Thalia and Phoebe?"

Percy glanced at Zoë. "Phoebe died on the quest, and Thalia is on Olympus. Anyways, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to go sleep." He nodded to both girls and Chiron before disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

Zoë found Percy sitting alone at the amphitheater. He was leaning back on one of the seats and had his hands behind his head, relaxing. He had his eyes closed. As Zoë approached, Percy opened his eyes and stared at her questioningly.

"Thank you for what you did back there," Zoë said, sitting next to Percy.

Percy shrugged. "It was the right thing to do."

Silence settled between the two as they stared up at the stars. After a while, Percy spoke. "So what do you plan on doing, now that you're no longer a Huntress? Will you stay here or travel the world?"

Zoë shook her head. "I'm not sure about that. Even if I wanted to travel the world, how could I? I have no resources for travel. What are you going to do?"

Percy shrugged. "Normally, now that this is all over, I'd leave. But I promised Hades that I would look after his kids, so I'm staying. And I also have some unfinished business to take care of."

Zoë glanced at him. "Does it include a certain son of Poseidon?"

Percy grinned. "Maybe." He looked up. "I don't know whether to say it's getting really late or really early." He yawned. "Anyways, I think we're going to have to continue this conversation later on. I'm half-dead right now."

Zoë nodded. She stood up. Percy waved. "Good night, Zoë." He vanished into the darkness.

Zoë turned and walked towards the beach, unable to sleep. There, she saw a figure sitting on the sand. It was Artemis. "Artemis," Zoë called. Artemis turned. She gestured for Zoë to sit down. Zoë sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry I had to do this to you, Zoë," Artemis said. "But I couldn't let you die."

Zoë nodded. "I understand," she said.

Artemis smiled. "Zoë, what do you plan to do now?"

Zoë looked away. "I don't know, milady. I suppose now I have no place to go."

Artemis was silent. "If you wish, I can claim you tomorrow and you may stay in my cabin whenever you want."

"Thank you, milady."

Artemis smiled at Zoë. "It is the least I can do for you after all you've done for me." After a while, she spoke again. "Zoë, what do you think of Percy?"

Zoë frowned. "He seems different than the other males out there. You were right about him being a good person."

Artemis nodded. "Zoë, will you do a favor for me?"

"Anything, milady."

"I need you to watch over Percy." Zoë stared at Artemis in confusion.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, milady."

Artemis knew that it was time to tell Zoë what she had discovered. "When Percy was fighting Koios and Atlas, I sensed a massive amount of power coming off of him. It wasn't until later when I saw Percy's father that I realized what it was."

"Milady?"

Artemis took a deep breath. She faced Zoë. "Inside Percy...I sensed the power of another Primordial God."

* * *

Erebus burst through the doors of his fellow sibling's temple furiously. The shadows shifted and swirled violently. Erebus saw his sibling standing in front of the temple altar, looking down at an image of the Earth. Erebus growled angrily and stomped over to his sibling. "How could you do this to my son?" he roared. "How could you curse his fate like this?!"

His sibling turned around calmly. "I'm guessing you know now."

Erebus stopped right in front of his sibling. "You gave him the Mantle of Fate! How could you do this to him?! To me?! Is this some sort of cruel punishment towards me for siring a demigod child?!"

His sibling sighed. "I did what I had to do."

"You know that even though he's a Primordial, his mortal body can't contain the Mantle of Fate! You'll kill him just like you did with Achilles after giving him the mantle so that he could fight with no weaknesses! By giving him the mantle, you doomed Achilles' fate, and now you've done the same thing to my son!"

Erebus' sibling looked down. "It had to be done."

Erebus grabbed his sibling by the neck and lifted his sibling up. "_I am not going to lose my son just so that you can use him for your little games of fate!_" he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the temple.

"I had to," his sibling gasped. "I had a vision."

Erebus' eyes narrowed. He let go and his sibling collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. "What do you mean you had a vision?"

His sibling slowly stood up. "There was a great war. Past the Titans. A massive army against a smaller one. Perseus was leading the smaller one. In my vision, he had the Mantle of Fate and another mantle."

Erebus frowned. "The last time you had a vision of a great war was when Gaea and Tartarus gave birth to the Gigantes. Are you meaning to say that—"

"There is a war coming. And a Primordial will be leading the enemy army."

Erebus' expression turned shocked. "Who? Tell me!"

"I do not know."

Erebus let a groan. "Then when?"

"I am not sure. It could be next year, or it could be in ten years. But there is something I can say for sure from the vision."

"What is it, Ananke?"

Ananke took a deep breath. "The wife of Perseus shall end the feud between fate and time."

* * *

**I'm back, people! **

**Okay, so I got back from my trip, but I injured my fingers, so I was delayed even more. **

**Anyways, tell me what you thought of this chapter!**


	9. The Labyrinth's Prophecy

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

**Read/Fav/Follow/Review/Enjoy!**

**If you like the the story, why not share it with others? Spread the word!**

***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

Zoë hated dreams.

She saw herself, except a few years older, maybe four or five years, sitting on a chair on a porch of a cabin in the woods. The place seemed rather nice and homey. Her dream self was watching two kids, a boy and a girl, running around and playing. She had a soft smile on her lips. Zoë watched the kids with interest and confusion. Who were they? They couldn't possibly be hers. They looked like they were eight or nine, and her dream self looked like she was eighteen or nineteen. Zoë stared at the kids, turning her back to the house. Zoë then heard a screeching sound. When she turned to look, the house was on fire, and her dream self was lying on the ground, staring at her with a blank expression. Zoë shivered and backed away.

Suddenly, her dream self stood up and stared at her. _"Twenty,"_ her dream self said. Her voice sounded raspy and whispery. Then everything went dark.

Zoë found herself in a dark hallway. Suddenly, a light above her flickered and sparked. In the split second that the light flickered on and off, Zoë thought she saw something in front of her down the hallway. She reached for her hunting knife only to find that she was unarmed. A bead of sweat formed on her forehead and she backed away slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the darkness in front of her. She strained her senses trying to detect any movement, but her senses alerted her to nothing.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of soft footsteps coming from down the hallway. She backed up slowly, straining her eyes in an effort to see whoever or whatever was in front of her. Nothing.

Just then, she saw a bright light at the end of the hallway. Somebody was coming. Zoë backed up and looked around for any place to hide. There was nowhere to go except back. Zoë took a step back and heard a demonic moaning sound from behind her. She spun around only to see darkness.

Zoë gulped. She was completely surrounded. The soft footsteps were getting closer, and the moaning sound seemed to be getting closer as well. Zoë turned around and saw that the light was coming closer. Her breathing quickened with every step that whatever was out there took. She spun around and it was then that the lights flickered on and off quickly, revealing a large silhouette. The footsteps behind Zoë suddenly stopped. She heard the faint sound of someone breathing quickly. She whirled around and got ready to throw a punch at...

Herself?

Zoë stared at her dream self. Her dream self seemed to be the same age as before in that other dream, except this time there was no trace of a smile on her dream self's lips. Rather, the girl seemed scared and on the verge of a panic attack. She kept glancing over her shoulder as if to check if anything was following her. She had nothing except a flashlight that was rather dim and flickered occasionally. She was covered in small cuts and scratches and her face was sweaty and grimy.

Zoë's dream self stared at her with wide eyes filled with fear and terror. Zoë held up her hands to try and calm her dream self. "Look, I know that this might sound weird, but I'm in a dream right now, so—" Her dream self just kept staring at her with a fearful expression. Zoë frowned. Her dream self suddenly pointed her flashlight at her chest. Zoë didn't understand. What was going on? Then her jaw went slack and her eyes widened as she realized what was going on.

Her dream self wasn't looking at her. She was invisible. Her dream self was looking at something _behind_ her.

Although Zoë didn't want to, she turned around slowly. The light had gone through her and was shining on something. Zoë didn't know what it was, but she didn't want to find out.

Just then, whatever was in front of her started to move towards them. Zoë's dream self gasped in horror and shock and immediately turned and ran. Zoë, not wanting to find out what was scaring her dream self so much, turned and ran after her dream self. The two weaved through the hallways. Zoë's dream self seemed to know where she was going. As they ran, Zoë heard a very creepy voice was behind her.

_"Zoë..."_ the thing called in a demonic voice. It was as if two voices were speaking at the same time. The thing's voice was warped and twisted, almost to the point that it was hard to understand what the thing was saying. _"Let's plaaaayyyyyy...come and play with meee..."_ A strange song started to play. _"Let's have some fun together..."_

Not a lot of things scared Zoë, but she was very afraid of this...whatever it was. The air seemed to get colder and harder to breathe. The shadows shifted and rippled, forming demonic faces that laughed and grinned at both of them. Zoë ignored her burning lungs and kept following her dream self. She followed her dream self into a small barely-lit room. The music faded from outside. _"Zoë...where are you...I wanna plaaayyyy...let's play a gaaammmeee..."_

Zoë sighed in relief and so did her dream self. She watched as her dream self shut off the flashlight and started to look around the room. Suddenly, Zoë heard footsteps outside the door. She tensed up and so did her dream self. The footsteps eventually faded away.

Zoë's dream self let out a breath and crept towards the door. She peeked outside and she must have seen something, for she quickly closed the door silently, breathing quickly.

The footsteps came again and this time, they stopped right outside the door. Zoë's dream self whimpered in fear—something Zoë had never done before. Was whatever was out there that terrifying? The suspense and tension in the air was overwhelming. The same song from before began to play.

Suddenly, the door opened with a loud squeaking sound, revealing nothing but darkness. Zoë gulped and her heart raced as she waited in anticipation for something to pop out of the darkness. Nothing came out. Silence filled the air and eventually, Zoë's heart rate slowed.

Just then, a figure popped out of the shadows, grinning madly. Zoë's eyes widened at who it was. Percy stood in front of her with a maniacal grin. The Eye of Fate on his forehead glowed dimly on his forehead. Zoë shivered when she saw that Percy's eyes were bloodshot red. He was covered in blood and there were deep cuts all over his body. His clothes were stained with blood and his hands were completely red with blood.

Percy opened his mouth and blood poured out from it, spilling onto the ground. _"Zoë...shall we play a game?"_ Percy lunged at Zoë's neck, laughing maniacally.

Zoë sat up, screaming. She gasped for air and gripped her blanket so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Eventually, she calmed down, repeating to herself that it was just a dream. Her breathing slowed. Zoë gulped and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Zoë wondered what it was that she had just seen. Why was Percy like that? She felt a shiver run up her spine as she thought about it.

Zoë sighed. After her nightmare, she was sure that she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. She glanced at the clock. Five AM. She rubbed her eyes and got up. Maybe a walk would help calm her nerves. She exited the cabin and headed into the forest.

As she hiked through the forest with no care for direction, Zoë's nerves calmed and the nightmare became easier to think about. Nevertheless, it still frightened her.

Zoë eventually found herself walking out of the forest and into the arena. There, she froze at the sight of what she saw.

Percy was standing in front of her with his back turned. He had his hand up and seemed to be concentrating on something. Zoë suddenly felt a rush of fear and remembered what she had experienced in her dream. Her hand instinctively crept towards her hunting knife.

"Perseus?" Percy jumped and spun around, reaching for his sword. He stopped when he realized that it was just Zoë.

"Oh, hey Zoë. Sleep well?" Percy put away his sword.

Zoë hesitated. "You could say that."

If Percy found her answer strange, he didn't comment on it. "What are you doing up so early?" she asked.

Percy yawned. "Couldn't really sleep. When I did, I had a really weird dream. It was like I was watching someone get chased by a duplicate of myself, but I couldn't tell who was getting chased."

Zoë froze. That couldn't be right. She had a dream about getting chased by him, and Percy goes and has a dream about watching himself chasing someone? Could it be that she and Percy had the same dream, except in two different perspectives? If they did, then what was the reason for the dreams? Was it a vision from the future, or something signifying a future event?

"Hellooo..." Percy waved his hand in front of Zoë's face. "Anyone home?"

Zoë blinked. "Sorry. I was thinking about something else."

Percy smirked. "Okay, good, because I thought that you just blanked out completely for a second there."

Zoë scowled. She looked behind Percy and saw several dummies standing in a line. "What were you doing?"

"Oh, this?" Percy faced the dummies. "Well, after you all told me about this Eye of Fate thing and all that, I decided to see if I could train myself to use the power at will. So far, I haven't been able to do anything."

Zoë frowned. "Perhaps it isn't supposed to be controlled."

Percy shrugged. "Maybe." He scratched his head and frowned. "I just realized that we're going to have to tell everyone about what happened on the quest, right?"

Zoë nodded. "It's customary for the quest members to inform the cabin counselors of what happened on their quests."

"Could have just said yes, you know," Percy muttered. Zoë glared at him and he grinned. "Anyways, I'm going to go get something to eat. Wanna come?"

"What are we eating?"

"What do you want?"

Zoë shook her head. "I'm fine with anything."

Percy grinned. "Alright! Let's go to IHOP." The two disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

Zoë sat at the ping pong table with the other senior campers. Orion, Annabeth, Beckendorf, Silena, the Stoll Brothers, and Clarisse, who was back from her secret mission, were there, along with a few other campers. Percy was sitting in the shadows away from everyone else, reading a book. Chiron and Mr. D. were also there. Before the meeting started, Chiron talked to Zoë about the quest, which Mr. D. must have informed him of.

After Chiron explained what happened on the quest, Orion was the first to speak (unfortunately). He pointed at Zoë. "Why is she here? The Hunters have already left camp. Why is she still here?"

"Zoë is no longer a member of the Hunt due to...complications during the quest," Chiron explained. He was never told why Zoë had to leave the Hunt, only that she had to. "She will be staying at Camp Half-Blood now."

Orion laughed. "She got kicked out of the Hunt? How? Let me guess, she fell in love with that darkness spawn over there." Percy didn't appear to hear anything.

Zoë's eyes narrowed. She stood up and grabbed her hunting knife, but somebody grabbed her hand, stopping her. She whirled around and saw Percy looking up at her with a serious expression. _Later,_ he mouthed. He let go of her hand, but he kept his gaze on her, warning her not to act. Zoë glared at Percy and nodded stiffly.

Orion laughed at this. "See, I told you that she's whoring around with him! No wonder she's so submissive of him!" Nobody laughed with Orion. Beckendorf and a few others looked at Zoë with looks of pity.

Zoë saw red. She was about to stand up, but the shadows pulled her down. She heard Percy stand up next to her.

"You know, it's a wonder on how people as stupid as you can manage to survive in this world. But then again, without dear old daddy to protect you and care for you, you wouldn't be anything." Orion's face reddened in anger. "There's a lot of things I can ignore, son of Poseidon. But seeing my friends get hurt isn't one of them. Hurt my friends, and I will drive you to the brink of insanity."

Orion sneered. "You think you scare me? I have more power than you ever will! I'm the best warrior in the camp, and I have the most power here over the campers! I'm the king, and you're just a lousy worthless peasant!"

Percy placed his hands on the table and glared at Orion with a steely gaze. "Joan of Arc was a lousy worthless peasant who single-handedly led the French army and drove the English out of France. And by the way, abusing someone isn't the same as having power over them."

Orion frowned. "What the hell are you saying?" Zoë frowned at Percy. What was he planning? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Annabeth staring at Percy with wide eyes.

Percy grinned humorlessly. "You're Annabeth's 'boyfriend', are you not?"

"Yeah, so?"

Percy's grin turned into a sneer. "Annabeth, lift up your sleeve." Annabeth's expression turned surprised. Hesitantly, she lifted up her sleeve, and the others gasped when they saw the bruises. Percy didn't look at them. Instead, he kept his gaze on Orion, who was becoming pale. "The hesitation, the submissive personality, the fearfulness...I was abused for eight years straight. I can recognize the clues when I see them."

The shadows around Orion shifted violently and a demonic monster grabbed his arms and raised its head over Orion, ready to snap his head off. Orion screamed in terror. "People like you are just a waste of space in this world. Cethin, ki—" Percy frowned and stared down at the table, as if he was listening to someone talking to him. "Are you serious?" Percy growled. "Fine. You can have your way then. But I won't forgive you for this, you old bat." Percy looked up. "Cethin, release him." Cethin disappeared into the shadows. "You got off lucky this time, Poseidon spawn. Looks like you won't die today. But nobody ever said that I couldn't punish you." The shadows surrounded Orion. After a few seconds, he began to scream in terror. When the shadows receded, he fell to the floor and started blubbering and spouting gibberish.

Percy faced Mr. D. "Don't bother curing him of his madness. It won't work." With that, he left the Big House, ignoring everyone's stares of shock and fear.

* * *

Zoë found Percy near Zeus' Fist, arguing with another girl. She had blonde hair that tumbled down her shoulders. Her eyes were bright yellow and seemed to glow. She was dressed in light blue jeans and a yellow t-shirt. She was very beautiful and seemed to glow slightly. Zoë was shocked when she felt the girl's aura. It seemed to be almost as powerful as Percy's, if not just as powerful. She was wielding a glowing yellow staff.

Zoë was too far away to hear what Percy and the girl were arguing about, but it seemed to be serious. Percy was waving his arms angrily and the girl waved her staff around. As Zoë walked closer, she could hear what they were saying.

"Damn it, Aly, it isn't like that!" Percy said furiously.

"Then what is it?" the girl, Aly, said angrily. "Why the hell are you being so secretive about this? What are you trying to hide from me?"

"I'm not trying to hide anything, damn it! It's only just begun, it was only a one time thing! I don't know if it'll happen again, alright?!"

"How can I trust you?"

Percy groaned. "I don't know how this works out, Aly. It's ONE time! I can't figure it out just from that!"

"If it really is what you say it is—"

"Why would I lie to you?!" Percy shouted. "Do you really have that little faith in me?! In our relationship?!"

Aly stared at Percy with a hurt expression. She sighed. "I don't want to argue with you." She looked down. "Just...just figure it, alright? Please." Zoë watched as Aly took a step forward. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Percy on the cheek. She then disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Percy sighed angrily and lashed out his hand. The shadows ripped through the ground violently as Percy released his frustration and anger. He leaned on his arm against a tree and placed his head on his arm, glaring down at the ground. "Damn it..." he muttered.

Zoë decided that it was time for her to announce her presence. "Who was that?" she asked.

Percy barely looked at her. "She's Alexis Luminous, daughter of Aether. She's a...friend," he said. Zoë felt like she could see Percy putting up his emotional barriers, closing himself off from the rest of the world.

Percy sat down tiredly. "Anyways, what are you doing here?"

Zoë sat down next to him. "Why did you spare that spawn of Poseidon?"

Percy grinned humorlessly. "Turns out that he's needed for something in the future. Atropos wouldn't let me kill him. That insanity spell I put on him is going to last for a while, but eventually, it'll wear off. Still, it should be enough to teach him to not mess with my friends."

Zoë nodded. She wanted to ask about the daughter of Aether, but she figured that it was very personal for Percy, so she didn't touch the subject. She had a suspicion that he and Alexis were more than just friends.

Well...not that it mattered, of course.

* * *

_**Eight months later...**_

Zoë ducked under a swing and slashed at Percy's legs, who jumped over her blade and counterattacked. Since Percy had given her Anaklusmos, she had decided to learn how to fight with a sword. She had to admit that learning swordsmanship was a lot harder than she had originally thought. And with Percy as her teacher, it just got harder. He was a good teacher, but during their spars, he seemed to have fun testing Zoë's limits, which he said were getting higher and higher every time their sparred.

Over the eight months, Percy and Zoë grew closer and closer until they were practically best friends. Around the camp, they could almost always be seen together, hanging out, much to many girls' dismays.

Zoë knew that she and Percy did not do everything together. Almost everyday, he would vanish into the shadows and go somewhere. Whenever Zoë asked him where he was going, Percy would smile and say, "To visit a friend." Zoë eventually figured out that Percy's "friend" was Alexis.

Zoë didn't know why, but she felt incredibly jealous now. When she saw Percy and the daughter of Aether Alexis hanging out once in the woods together, with Percy's arm wrapped around Alexis' shoulders, she felt a burning sensation in her chest. Her feelings confused her. Why was she like this?

By now, Zoë knew that she couldn't deny it any more. She had feelings for Percy, as bad as it was. It was clear that he had no feelings for her and that he was already taken.

As Percy swung at her, Zoë kicked him back. He fell between a crevice in two rocks and with a surprised yell, disappeared. Zoë's eyes widened and she jumped in after him. She landed on the cold hard ground.

"What is this place?" Percy groaned. He got up unsteadily.

Zoë's eyes widened. "We are in the Labyrinth."

"...and?"

"Percy, this is Daedalus' Labyrinth! It connects to places all over the world! If there's an entrance here, then that means an army can invade from inside the camp. The camp barriers are useless." After a while, Zoë had begun to call Percy "Percy" instead of "Perseus."

Percy's eyes widened. "We need to warn the others." He held out his hand and Zoë took it. They disappeared into the shadows and reappeared outside the Big House. Percy banged on the door. "Chiron!"

After a few seconds, Chiron opened the door with a mildly concerned expression. "What is it, Percy?"

"Call a war council. We've got trouble."

Chiron's eyes widened. He took out a conch shell and blew on it. "The counselors will be coming soon. If I may ask...what is it that we are facing?"

"There's an entrance to the Labyrinth inside the camp borders. If the Titans find out about this, they will be able to exploit it and send an army at us without having to worry about the barriers."

Chiron nodded quickly. "Come inside."

Eventually, the camp counselors were all gathered around the ping pong table. "We need a prophecy," Percy stated almost immediately. "We need to issue a quest."

Chiron nodded. "I have sent Annabeth to the Oracle, if you are okay with her leading the quest?"

Percy shook his head. "I don't care who leads it. If it's Annabeth, then it's good. We'll probably need her intellect."

"What's going on, Prissy?" Clarisse growled.

"There's an entrance to Daedalus' Labyrinth inside the camp," Percy explained. "If the Titans discover this, assuming that they haven't already, they will be able to launch a full-scale attack on the camp with no regard for the camp barriers. It'll be a massacre."

The counselors looked fearful and several of them fidgeted in their seats. "What are we going to do?" Katie Gardner, a daughter of Demeter, asked worriedly.

"We'll launch a quest and while several of us goes on it, the rest of us will prepare defenses for the camp. The chances of us preventing a full-scale attack are very slim, and I'd rather not take those chances."

Just then, Annabeth entered the room with a frown on her face. "Half," she said. "The Oracle said only half of a prophecy."

Zoë frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The only lines that the Oracle said were,

_Four shall delve into the endless maze _

_Light and dark shall lead the way_

_One will fall by light's hand._"

"After that, she just stopped," Annabeth finished.

Percy scowled. "Seriously?"

Annabeth nodded. After Orion, she had gotten a lot better and was now more confident and had more pride than before, much to Percy's relief. "What could the prophecy mean though?"

"Light's hand...who the heck is 'Light?'" Travis Stoll asked.

"And what does it mean by 'Light and dark shall lead the way?'" Connor Stoll asked.

Percy frowned. "Light...light..." He seemed to come to a realization. "Light and dark shall lead the way..." He turned to Annabeth. "Annabeth, who will you take with you on your quest?"

"If you two are up to it, I'll take you and Zoë. 'Light and dark shall lead the way...' it's obvious that you're one of the quest members, being a son of Erebus." Percy nodded. "And Zoë? Will you go?"

Zoë nodded. "I'll go."

"Same," Percy said. "But what about the last member?"

Annabeth hesitated. "I don't know." None of the counselors seemed willing to speak up.

Percy frowned, deep in thought. "I'm going to make a call." He reached into the shadows and pulled out a cellphone. "And don't worry, this doesn't signal to monsters." He pressed a few buttons and placed the phone next to his ear. Zoë heard someone pick up on the other end. "Yeah, it's me. Hey, uh, can I ask a favor?"

The person said something. "Yeah, um, so what's happening is that there's a quest, and we need one more member. Do you want to come?" The person said something else. "Um, we're on a quest to find Daedalus and convince him to help us to prevent the enemy's attack on camp." Another reply. "Yeah, I know he's dead, but the freaking thing's tied to his life force. So he has to be alive." Another reply. "Where are we going? Uh, into the Labyrinth..."

_"WHAT?!"_ the person screamed. Her voice was so loud that everyone in the room could hear her. Percy immediately held the cellphone a good two feet from his ear. _"YOU WANT ME TO GO — THE LABYRINTH?!"_ The girl's voice faded in and out so that a few words were blocked out. _"I SWEAR, PERSEUS JACKSON, THAT I WILL TAKE YOUR SWORD AND SHOVE IT STRAIGHT UP YOUR — AND THEN I'M GOING TO — — — AND THEN — — — — AND — __— __— __— __— __—_SO THAT AFTER THAT YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO — — — AND YOU'LL HAVE TO — SIDEWAYS!"

"Are you coming then?" Percy interrupted. The phone clicked. Percy grinned and tossed the cellphone into the shadows. "She's coming."

"Who?" Annabeth asked with a bemused expression.

A flash of light appeared in the room and a cellphone flew at Percy, smacking him in the head. "Augh!" He stumbled backwards.

_"Perseus Jackson!"_ Zoë realized that Percy had called Alexis. "I swear, I am going to kill you!" Alexis grabbed Percy's collar and pulled him down so that they were level. "Why would you—"

Percy pointed at the others. Alexis seemed to finally notice the others in the room. She raised a hand in greeting. "Um, hi."

The others waved back awkwardly. Chiron cleared his throat. "My dear, what is your name?" he asked kindly.

"Alexis. Alexis Luminous, daughter of Aether."

"Your the daughter of a Primordial?" Annabeth asked, shocked.

Alexis nodded. She frowned at Annabeth. "You're...Annabeth, right?" Annabeth nodded. Alexis turned to Zoë. "And you're Zoë?" Zoë nodded stiffly, telling herself to get a grip.

Alexis grinned. "Great. So what's the plan?"

Annabeth explained the plan and situation quickly. Alexis was a good listener. When Annabeth finished, Alexis nodded slowly. "'One shall fall by light's hand...' The prophecy talks of light as if it's a person. My father's the Primordial of the upper air and light, meaning that the prophecy could be talking about me. It might not be the best thing for me to go on this quest. The risk is too high. I might end up killing one of you."

"Are you saying that you are dangerous?" Zoë said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm saying that it might be for the better for everyone that I don't go on this quest."

"Prophecies have a tendency to play out the way they are meant to no matter what happens," Annabeth said. "If you don't go, the same outcome will probably come."

Alexis scowled. "Alright then. I'll go."

Percy grinned. "Remember the Chaos Games?"

Alexis slammed her fist on Percy's head, who groaned in pain. "Aigoo...this no-brained stupid idiot...that was not fair then!"

"Sis said that it was."

"She never said that!"

"Yeah."

"No!"

"Yeah."

"No!"

"No."

"Yeah—you—!"

Percy laughed and wrapped an arm around Alexis. Zoë suddenly felt a surge of jealousy. The campers stared at Percy and Alexis in shock and surprise.

"Anyways, Annabeth, when do we leave?" Percy asked.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning. Hopefully we'll reach Daedalus quickly."

* * *

As Annabeth, Zoë, Percy, and Alexis walked through the Labyrinth, they failed to notice the words written on the wall.

_Four shall delve into the endless maze_

_Light and dark shall lead the way_

_One will fall by light's hand_

_The child of light's final stand_

_Destroy with a hero's final breath_

_And lose a love to the clutches of death._


	10. The Faded King of the Serpents

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

**Read/Fav/Follow/Review/Enjoy!**

**If you like the the story, why not share it with others? Spread the word!**

***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

Percy, Zoë, Alexis, and Annabeth traveled through the Labyrinth for a few hours without any luck. The tunnels had no sense of order to them and despite all of Annabeth's efforts not to get lost, the group soon found themselves to be, well, lost.

Percy resisted the urge to curse. Usually, he would just ask a hellhound to shadow travel them to their location, but Daedalus' workshop wasn't exactly a place the hellhounds knew well.

As the quest wandered through the Labyrinth, completely lost, they came across a room with several pathways. They stopped and stared at the pathways, trying to decide where to go.

After a while, Alexis spoke. "So...anyone got any idea which tunnel to take?"

Annabeth shined her flashlight on one tunnel, revealing nothing but darkness. "That one," she said.

Percy frowned. He stared at a different tunnel. "No. We need to go this way," he said. He couldn't explain why, but he felt like something was pulling him towards the tunnel.

Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed. "But that pathway seems a lot newer than this one. Since Daedalus is thousands of years old, it makes sense that he would be in the oldest part of the Labyrinth."

Alexis walked up next to Percy. "Percy's right. There's something in that tunnel that feels like it's pulling on me."

"I don't sense anything though."

That was when it hit Zoë. "Perhaps it isn't something we can sense," she said slowly, deep in thought. "Perhaps it's only something that you two can sense."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "'Light and dark shall lead the way.'"

Zoë nodded.

Percy nodded slowly. "It makes sense, I guess..." He glanced at Alexis, and a silent conversation seemed to go on between them. "Alright, we'll take this path. Probably a trap though."

Alexis grinned slightly. "Next move?"

Percy grinned crookedly. "Spring the trap." He headed off into the tunnel with the others close behind.

As the four walked down the tunnel, the light got darker and darker until nobody except Percy could see. Alexis quickly created some light and the quest was able to move on. The tunnel had no twists, side exits, turns, etc. That was the good part. The bad part was that on the other end of the tunnel, Percy could just barely hear a hissing sound. The sound of snakes.

Percy tensed up as they neared the end of the tunnel. He couldn't sense any powerful auras on the other side, so hopefully it was just a room with one snake and nothing else.

Finally, the four reached the end of the tunnel and stood on a rock walkway jutting out from the door. They immediately found themselves standing over a pit filled with all kinds of snakes, writhing and slithering back and forth over one another everywhere. The room filled with hissing sounds.

Percy's eyes widened. He looked down at the pit and got a glimpse of a door. He cursed silently. "There." He pointed at the door. "The exit's down there. Now we just have to figure out how to get to it."

Zoë stared down at the pit with wide fearful eyes. "It will be almost impossible to get to that door without getting bit. There has to be another way."

Suddenly, the ground rumbled. The snakes parted and something emerged from the ground. A creature with the upper body of a man and the body of a snake appeared from the ground. The creature had an intricate emerald green armor that looked like it was made from snake scales and was armed with a glowing scepter. The scepter was twisted in shape as if several snakes were coiled around the scepter. The creature had glowing poisonous green eyes and long flowing black hair that was cut very unevenly, kind of like a rock star's. He had a grey and black beard that was messy and filthy. His nose was small and almost nonexistent, having only slits for nostrils, kind of like a snake. In fact, everything about this creature was like a snake. Then the aura hit Percy.

Percy felt like he was being crushed to death by the creature's aura. Despite the fact that the creature's aura was sickly and flickered again and again, it was still enough to almost destroy Percy's mind just by existing.

The creature was a Primordial God. Percy was sure of it. No being in the universe other than a Primordial could have an aura that powerful without being torn to shreds. Percy racked his brain in an effort to remember which Primordial this god could be.

The Primordial stared up at him. The door suddenly slammed shut, trapping the four quest members on the ledge jutting out from the doorway. The Primordial then shot out a hand and a massive bolt of emerald green energy exploded from his hand. It condensed and shifted, forming the shape of a serpent. As it shot towards the four quest members, the serpent reared back its head and smashed into the ledge, destroying it. The ledge crumbled to pieces and with a yell of surprise, Percy fell into the pit with the others. The snakes drew back away from where the four landed and hissed. Several rattlesnakes began to rattle their tails. However, no snakes attacked.

Percy got up unsteadily and immediately called upon the shadows. The shadows wrapped around his body and formed his armor. Shade shot into his hand and an aura of darkness began to roll off of the blade. Percy backed up to where the others were and held up his sword threateningly as the others got their respective weapons out, ready to fight.

Just then, Percy heard a low hissing sound. He realized after a while that it was laughter. The snake crowd parted and the Primordial slithered up to Percy and his friends. The Primordial encircled the four with his body and slowly slithered around them, staring at them with narrowed eyes. Then it hissed and finally spoke.

_"The son of Erebus and a daughter of Aether. The daughter of Athena and the spawn of Atlas,"_ the Primordial spoke. Surprisingly, despite what Percy thought would happen. the Primordial's voice sounded a lot more normal than what Percy expected. The Primordial suddenly hissed angrily and slithered up to Percy, growling. It took all of Percy's willpower not to cower, but unfortunately, the others had backed up in fear, even Alexis. The Primordial's nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. _"You...I sense a dormant power inside of you. Something much darker than the darkest pits of Erebus and Tartarus and more powerful than power of Olympus. Is that why you do not cower before me?"_

Percy's eyes widened. He gripped his sword and shield tightly. "That doesn't mean anything to you. Who are you, anyways? Judging by your aura, you must be a Primordial."

The Primordial's eyes narrowed. He nodded. _"That I am. Tell me, Perseus Jackson," Percy couldn't help but shiver when the Primordial spoke his real name. "do you not recognize me? Me? The Primordial of Serpents, King of the Heavens, and one of the firstborn of Chaos himself? Me, the great Ophion?!"_

Percy froze when he heard the Primordial's name. Ophion...Percy had once read about the Primordial God. He frowned. "How have you not faded yet? The world has forgotten about you. And where is your wife, Eurynome?"

Ophion hissed angrily. _"Gone! Gone forever into the realm of my father! But alas, I could not join her! Father would not allow it! He spoke of myself having one last test to give before I am allowed peace and rest!"_ He let out a bellow of anguish and rage, and all the snakes in the room hissed loudly, writhing even more violently.

"P-Percy, who is he?" Annabeth stammered. He glanced back at her and saw that her face was completely pale and despite her best efforts, she was shaking in fear, clearly affected by Ophion's enormous aura.

Before Percy had a chance to answer, Ophion spoke. _"I used to rule the world from Olympus! The world was hatched in my coils! I was its absolute ruler! All bowed before me! I was invincible! But I was deceived. Cast aside by the wretched children of my whore of a sister."_

Zoë frowned. "Deceived? By who?"

_"The Titans, the Titans! Those blasted wretched scum of the earth!"_ Ophion roared. _"After they killed Ouranos, they attacked me and my wife at Olympus and cast us from the mountain into the realm of Oceanus! He was the only one who abstained from attacking Olympus and he kept Eurynome safe for me. I returned to the earth and found that the world had been corrupted and destroyed by the greed of my wretched nephew. Then the Olympian gods led by Zeus attacked the Titans and won the war. And yet, even after the Titans were cast down into Tartarus, I was still forgotten! So I marched up to Olympus and demanded to Zeus to return my title to me—a title that I had the right to—and what does he do? He laughs in my face and casts me down to Ophiussa. I fell into a dormant state and centuries past. When I awakened, I found out that my beloved wife had faded!"_ Ophion swung his scepter violently in the air and the snakes hissed loudly, expressing the pain and hatred that their master was feeling.

_"I stayed here in this pit for centuries, feeling the shift in the earth,"_ Ophion continued. _"I can sense that this place has moved. I can feel the mortals above studying the snakes in the Narciss Pits!" _

"The what?" Percy asked, frowning. "Where is that?"

_"I don't know!"_ Ophion hissed in outrage. _"In that country called Candia or Candyland or something!"_

"Candyland? You mean Canada?"

_"Whatever! Now why are you here?!" _

Percy pointed at the door across the pit. "We're on a quest and the only exit out of this place is that door. We need to leave. If you let us leave, we'll be grateful and leave you alone. If you don't let us pass, then we'll have to fight our way to that door."

Ophion laughed. _"You?"_ he said incredulously. _"Fight me? A Protogenus? You may have defeated two Titans, but they are nothing compared to _my_ power!"_ Percy froze. How could Ophion possibly know about that? Ophion noticed Percy's shock and grinned. _"I could feel two Titans fade in southwest. Your aura was present there, along with the aura of your little dormant friend."_

Percy shook his head and glared at Ophion. "That doesn't mean anything. You _will_ let us pass, or else." He knew that he was completely bluffing. Even though he didn't want to admit it in front of Ophion. he knew that there was no way that he would be able to come close to defeating the Primordial God.

Ophion let out a snort. _"And if I don't?"_ He flicked his wrist and the snakes all faced the quest members, hissing angrily. Some of them reared their heads to strike.

Percy cursed silently. Ophion did have the upper hand. Despite his weaker-than-usual aura, it was still very powerful. Since he was a Primordial God, Percy knew that he would have almost unlimited strength and endurance. And having thousands of snakes in the room was not helping at all. So Percy did the smart thing. He charged the Primordial.

Ophion blocked Percy's first strike with his scepter and slithered back. His facial expression was strange and undecipherable. For a split second, it appeared as if he had just realized something. _"I never had any quarrels with my brothers and sisters nor with their children. I have no wish to fight you, boy. Stop this useless attack and surrender." _

Percy ignored Ophion's words and struck again. Ophion this time blasted Percy with energy, who barely managed to block with his shield. He stumbled backwards and fell into a backwards roll. He stood up and watched Ophion warily. "You will let us pass," he said.

Ophion hissed. _"Then you must pass the test! That is my last deed in this universe! Pass the test and you may continue on your journey!"_ Ophion was the first to attack this time. He struck with his scepter and Percy pushed it just out of the way with his sword before slashing at Ophion. With blinding speed, Ophion blocked the blow and counterattacked. His scepter turned into a sword and he swung his sword at Percy, who blocked. Percy slashed, jabbed, stabbed, and feinted, but nothing he did could land a hit on the Primordial. Meanwhile, his stamina was decreasing and he was pretty sure that Ophion wasn't even close to feeling any signs of fatigue yet.

Ophion suddenly then swung his blade and nicked Percy on his right arm. It was a tiny cut, but Percy's entire side exploded with pain. He dropped his sword and agony and collapsed to his knees, clutching his arm in pain.

"Percy!" Zoë yelled. Percy could barely hear her.

_"Do you yield, son of Erebus? Do you accept your fate? Do you accept your death?"_ Ophion held his sword to Percy's chin.

A part of Percy screamed at him to never give up and to keep fighting. His pride almost overcame him, but Percy knew that it was hopeless. A Titan, he could challenge and barely fight. A Primordial, even a fading one at that, was an impossible opponent to defeat. Without looking up, Percy whispered, "I accept."

Ophion stared down at Percy. Then he nodded and withdrew his sword. His sword turned back into a scepter and disappeared. "_Perseus Jackson, you have passed the test of humility. You have allowed yourself to overcome your pride and give up."_ Ophion's began to flicker and so did the snakes in the room. _"Remember this day. The lesson you learn today will be needed later on. I wish you luck on your quest and afterwards, Perseus Jackson."_ Ophion then disappeared in a flash of light. The exit door slid open silently, beckoning the quest members to come.

Percy stood up unsteadily. The cut on his arm was gone and so was the pain. He turned to the others and gestured with his head. "Come on, let's go." The quest members went through the door, starting their quest once again.

Percy sighed silently. "Goodbye, Ophion," he whispered silently to himself. "And thank you."

As the four exited the pit, Ophion reappeared. He stared at Percy's retreating figure curiously and with a hint of fear. _"Morus...I'd never thought that I'd sense his power again. Not since that time when..."_ Ophion shook his head and faded from view, joining his wife in the realm of Chaos.

* * *

It wasn't long before the quest members ran into trouble. Of all the monsters they could have ran into, it had to be the creepy lion lady who wore too much makeup. The Sphinx, Percy had to admit, was a lot uglier in real life than what the myths said and showed, and that was saying something, because she was pretty ugly in the myths to begin with. She stood on a glittery dais on the opposite side of the room. She had the body of a huge lion and the head of a woman. She had a blue ribbon badge pinned to her chest that read: THIS MONSTER HAS BEEN RATED EXEMPLARY!

Percy would have laughed if the situation wasn't so weird. A monster who looked like she belonged in a Jeopardy game instead of the Greek World? That monster was definitely high on something. Maybe stupidity.

From what Percy could remember, the Sphinx loved to ask riddles—one riddle to be exact—to her victims. If they got the answer wrong, they would die. If they got it right, then they could pass.

Annabeth quickly volunteered, confident that she could answer the Sphinx's riddle with no trouble at all. Personally, Percy wasn't complaining. He had absolutely no idea what the Sphinx's riddle was.

"Welcome, Annabeth Chase!" the Sphinx said with glee before Annabeth had even told the Sphinx her name. "Are you ready for your test? The test of the gods? The best test ever created in all of tests?"

"Yes," Annabeth said, taking a calming breath. "Ask your riddle."

"Twenty riddles, actually," the Sphinx corrected, still smiling.

"What? But in the old days you had one!" Annabeth protested.

"Oh, we've raised our standards. To pass, you must show proficiency in all twenty. Isn't that great?" The Sphinx grinned.

The confidence Annabeth had before was almost completely gone.

"Okay," she said hesitantly, "I'm ready."

A drum roll sounded from above. The Sphinx's eyes glittered with excitement. "What…is the capital of Bulgaria?"

Annabeth frowned. "Sofia," she said, "but—"

"Correct!" the Sphinx cheered. "Next question!"

"Wait a second," Annabeth interrupted. "What about 'What walks on four legs in the morning'?"

"I beg your pardon?" the Sphinx said, clearly annoyed now.

"The riddle about the man. He walks on four legs in the morning, like a baby, two legs in the afternoon, like an adult, and three legs in the evening, as an old man with a cane. That's the riddle you used to ask."

"Exactly why we changed the test!" the Sphinx crowed triumphantly. "You already knew the answer! Now the second question. What is the square root of sixteen?"

"Four, but—"

"Correct! Now what is the product of—"

"Stop!" Annabeth shouted, holding up her hands. "These aren't riddles."

"What do you mean?" the Sphinx snapped. "Of course they are. This test material is specifically designed to—"

"These are just a bunch of dumb, random facts that nobody cares about. I'm a child of Athena," Annabeth exclaimed "And this is an insult to my intelligence. I won't answer these questions. Either ask a real riddle or let us pass."

Percy stared at Annabeth with an incredulous look. If the questions were that easy, then why didn't she just answer them and move on? She had to be the most prideful person Percy had ever met in his life.

"Why then, my dear," the Sphinx said calmly. "If you won't pass, you fail. And since we can't allow any children to be held back, you'll be EATEN!" The monster pounced at Annabeth.

Percy swung his hand and the shadows responded, grabbing the Sphinx and pinning her to the ground. "Get back!" he yelled to the others. He disappeared into the shadows and drew Shade. He held it to the Sphinx's head. "You used to stay in front of the city of Thebes in the ancient times. What are you guarding now? Why so desperate to stop us from passing?"

"I'll never tell!" the Sphinx groaned.

Percy's eyes flashed. "Okay." He swung his sword and lopped off the Sphinx's head cleanly. The exit door glowed and faded, revealing a tunnel.

Now that the danger was over, Percy turned to Annabeth, scowling. "Watch that pride of yours, Annabeth. If you had just answered her questions we could have avoided this entire thing and have been on our way. She would have died either way."

Annabeth's eyes widened before they narrowed. "They were stupid questions—"

"I don't care if they were the easiest questions in the world. That would have just made it simpler. It's a good thing to have pride, but it's not very wise to think that just because things don't go the way you want, you have the right to whine and complain about it. Keep that pride in check, or don't bother acting at all. The camp is in grave danger and here you are, complaining about some dumb questions when we could have already been moving." Annabeth looked hurt by Percy's remark.

"Now let's move," Percy said. He immediately turned and exited the room. The others, still shocked, followed Percy through the tunnels.

* * *

Alexis and Percy eventually led the others to a room with two doors. As they tried to decide which door to take, Percy stared at one door with a frown. It had a hieroglyph of a scepter on the front. Percy walked up to the door and placed his hand on the door on instinct. The door glowed and faded, revealing another room. There was nothing except a glowing desk and a scroll sitting on the desk.

Percy, quickly followed by the others, walked up to the desk and rolled open the scroll. As he read the scroll's contents, his eyes widened.

_A half-blood of the eldest gods_

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds_

_And see the world in endless sleep_

_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap_

_A single choice shall end his days_

_Olympus to preserve or raze._

* * *

**I apologize for the later-than-usual update, but then again, I _did_ say that updates would come later than usual now. But still, I apologize.**

**_*****IMPORTANT:*****_ Anyways, I wanted to know what all of you dear readers thought about the Mantle of Fate thing and Percy's "other side" or whatever that thing is. **

**So I'm setting up a vote. Do you want Percy's "other side" (let's just call it that for now) to appear more often or less often? Please answer yes or no in the reviews. The reason why I'm not setting up a poll is because I'm a stupid idiot who can't figure out the simple basics of a poll. Yeah.**

**Also, I know that many people hate those stories where Percy's all over-powered and can't be killed by anyone and blah blah blah. For you readers, don't worry. Percy will have_ plenty_ of challenges in the future. Even with the help of his "other side" thing, he will have a very hard time overcoming those challenges.**

**So yeah. Please make sure to vote (if you want, that is). I will be making my decision five minutes before I update the next chapter. **

**Review, let me know what you thought of this chapter (not a whole lot of action, sorry. I got something big planned for a few chapters later). **

**Also, suggestions are always welcome. I'm always open for new ideas because I'm too stupid to think of all these ideas myself.**


	11. Scythe plus Percy equals No

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

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Percy stared up at the big metal door. The door looked like an old-fashioned submarine hatch—oval, with metal rivets around the edges and a wheel for a doorknob. Where the portal should have been was instead a big brass plaque, green with age, with a Greek Ȇta inscribed in the middle.

Percy reached for the wheel, but the door slowly swung open before he could even touch the thing.

The room inside was enormous. It looked like a mechanic's garage, with several hydraulic lifts. Some had cars on them, but others had stranger things, including a half-built automaton, a metal lion that seemed to be hooked up to a battery charger, and a Greek war chariot made entirely of flames. Smaller projects cluttered a dozen worktables. Various tools hung along the walls. Each had its own outline on a Peg-Board, but nothing seemed to be in the right place. The hammer was over the screwdriver place. The staple gun was where the hacksaw was supposed to go. Under the nearest hydraulic lift, which was holding a '98 Toyota Corolla, a pair of legs stuck out—the lower half of a huge man in grubby gray pants and massive shoes.

The four quest members waited for Hephaestus to come out from under the car, but the god didn't seem to realize that he had visitors.

"Lord Hephaestus," Percy called. Hephaestus stopped tinkering with whatever he was and pushed out on a back trolley and sat up. He wore a jumpsuit smeared with oil and grime. _Hephaestus_, was embroidered over the chest pocket. His leg creaked and clicked in its metal brace as he stood, and his left shoulder was lower than his right, so he seemed to be leaning even when he was standing up straight. His head was misshapen and bulging. He wore a permanent scowl. His black beard smoked and hissed. Every once in a while a small wildfire would erupt in his whiskers then die out. His hands were the size of catcher's mitts.

"I didn't make you, did I?" Hephaestus said, squinting down at the quest members.

"Uh," Annabeth said. "No, sir."

"Good," the god grumbled. "Shoddy workmanship."

He studied the four. "Half-bloods," he grunted. "Could be automatons, of course, but probably not. So, there'd better be a good reason you're disturbing me. The suspension on this Corolla is no small matter, you know."

"Sir," Annabeth said hesitantly, "we're looking for Daedalus. We thought—"

"Daedalus?" the god roared. "You want that old scoundrel? You dare to seek him out!"

His beard burst into flames and his black eyes glowed.

"Uh, yes, sir, please," Annabeth said. Her voice was a little quieter from before.

Hephaestus glowered down at the demigods. "Humph. You're only wasting your time. Daedalus is nothing short of being—"

"—the key to saving Camp Half-Blood," Percy interrupted. "I understand if you don't want to help us, but unless you want to see your demigod children burn at the hands of the Titans, I suggest you help us."

Everything was silent except for the background noises in the forge. Zoë and Annabeth stared at Percy in shock, while Alexis just rolled her eyes and diverted her attention to an automaton spider that was creating a metal web.

Hephaestus snorted and a small burst of flame shot out of his nose. "You've got guts, demigod, speaking to a god like that." Hephaestus' expression turned thoughtful. "Very well. I can help you find that old inventor, but I require a favor first."

"Name it," Percy said immediately.

Hephaestus laughed—a booming sound like a huge bellows stoking a fire. "You heroes," he chuckled, "always making rash promises. How refreshing!"

He pressed a button on his workbench, and metal shutters opened along the wall. The screen flickered and then displayed a gray mountain ringed in forests. "That's Mount Saint Helens," Zoë said. "I once hunted there."

"Well, that's where the monster Typhon is trapped, you know. Used to be under Mount Etna, but when we moved to America, his force got pinned under Mount St. Helens instead. Great source of fire, but a bit dangerous. There's always a chance he will escape. Lots of eruptions these days, smoldering all the time. He's restless with the Titan rebellion."

"What do you want us to do?" Annabeth said. "Fight him?"

Hephaestus snorted. "That would be suicide. The gods themselves ran from Typhon when he was free. No. Someone has been using another one of my forges. It is located inside Mount Saint Helens. Every time I try to catch whoever it is, they run off before I can get there. They sense my godly aura before I can capture them. I need you two to find out who is using my forge. Find out and come back and let me know and I will tell you how to find Daedalus."

"How will we get to the volcano?" Zoë asked.

Hephaestus snapped his fingers and a metal spider came swinging. It landed at Percy's feet and scurried off into the Labyrinth. The demigods bowed and ran off after the spider.

* * *

After an exhausting jog, the little mechanical spider stopped in front of a doorway as the quest members stopped to catch their breaths. They slowly pushed the doors open where they saw another tunnel. This one was different than the Labyrinth though. It was entirely made of black stone and seemed endless. The mechanical spider took off again racing down the tunnel. The quest members began to run after it when they heard a rumbling sound from above.

After another half mile or so, the four emerged in a cavern the size of a Super Bowl stadium. Their spider escort stopped and curled into a ball. They had arrived at the forge of Hephaestus.

There was no floor, just bubbling lava hundreds of feet below. They stood on a rock ridge that circled the cavern. A network of metal bridges spanned across it. At the center was a huge platform with all sorts of machines, cauldrons, forges, and the largest anvil they'd ever seen—a block of iron the size of a house. Creatures moved around the platform—several strange, dark shapes, but they were too far away to make out details.

Percy picked up the metal spider and put it in his pocket as they made their way a little further into the cavern. The heat was absolutely horrible. In almost no time, the quest members were drenched in sweat.

Percy glanced up. "Let's move before anybody notices us."

Alexis glanced at the bridges. "We need to split up. Four people in one location will draw too much attention. We'll go in partners. Annabeth and I can draw their attention away while you two get to the bottom of this."

Percy hesitated. He nodded. "Alright. Good luck, you two."

"Likewise." Annabeth and Alexis ran off.

Percy gestured to Zoë. "Let's go."

The two sneaked past several guards and finally got to the platform where several telekhines were handling a large object with great care. Percy and Zoë hid behind a cart and peeked from behind it to see what was going on."

"The blade is almost complete," a telekhine said. "It needs another cooling in blood to fuse the metals."

"Aye," a second monster said. "It shall be even sharper than before."

Zoë's eyes widened. "Percy, look." Percy followed her gaze and his eyes widened and his face paled. The telekhines were holding a scythe. The last time Percy checked, there was only one being who wielded a scythe. Kronos, the Titan of Time, and the King of the Titans.

Suddenly, there was yelling from above. Percy glanced up and saw several monsters pointing at him and Zoë. They were caught.

Percy quickly turned to Zoë. "They've spotted us. You need to go, now. I can buy you some time to escape, but not much."

Zoë glared at Percy. "I am not abandoning you here, Percy!"

"You have to," Percy said. "Go. Warn Hephaestus of what's going on here. I can try to stop their efforts, but in case I fail, I need you to tell Hephaestus that the Scythe of Kronos is being reformed. If we both go, it'll be too risky." Percy glanced up again and saw several monsters running about, yelling. "Go!"

Zoë glared at Percy so intensely that Percy felt the urge to cower. Then she did something that surprised him greatly. She kissed him.

"Be careful, or I will kill you, Perseus Jackson." Zoë ran off quickly.

Percy stared at her with wide eyes, wondering what had just happened and how screwed he was.

"There!" a monster yelled. About twenty telekhines ran towards Percy. He ran for the middle of the platform, surprising the four elder sea demons so much they dropped the red-hot scythe. It was about six feet long and curved like a crescent moon. Percy took one glance at the blade and felt an immense amount of power coming from it. It was then that Percy finally understood why Kronos, the youngest of the original Titans, was the most powerful. His scythe was a weapon fit for a Primordial, forged from Gaea's essence herself and stained with the blood and essence of Ouranos.

"Intruder!" a telekhine barked.

"Eat him!" another yelled.

Percy swung his hand upwards with a yell and the shadows responded, solidifying and ripping straight through the elder telekhines. The scythe clattered to the ground. Percy was about to reach for it, but the telekhines surrounded him and blocked the scythe from his view. Percy cursed and backed up, summoning Shade. Having the sword in his hands was comforting.

As Percy tried to think of a way to handle the situation, one of the telekhines spoke up. "Let's see how long it takes for him to burn!" The telekhine grabbed a bunch of red-hot coals and hurled them at Percy. Percy swung his arm and the shadows formed a barrier around him, protecting him. He formed another barrier when another telekhine threw some coal at him. As the telekhines all reached for the coals, Percy swung his sword and the shadows responded violently, slamming into the telekhines and sending them all to their deaths below.

Percy let out a sigh of relief and turned to the scythe. He moved to pick it up, but something slammed into his back and sent him toppling off the platform with a surprised yell. He landed on a narrow walkway and groaned in pain.

Suddenly, a figure landed across from him. Percy got up quickly and got a good look at his opponent. The man had golden hair and radiant golden eyes. The man was dressed in bright yellow Greek-style armor—the same color as Apollo's sun chariot—and was wielding a curved golden blade that glowed. Percy could feel an immense amount of heat radiating off of the man and his sword. Who was this man? Probably a Titan, but which one?

The man grinned at Percy. "You will fall here today, Jackson. So you were the one who killed Koios and drove Atlas insane."

Percy's eyes narrowed. "It wasn't that hard, you know. You Titans are terrible when it comes to fighting." Of course, he was bluffing. Percy had absolutely no idea how he could kill _one_ Titan, much less _two_.

The man snarled. "I'll burn you to a crisp, boy!"

"Fight me and talk big after."

The Titan charged at Percy with blinding speed and swung his blade at Percy's neck, but Percy dodged and kicked the man back. The man stumbled backwards and Percy took this as an opportunity to slash at the man's chest, but the man blocked and counterattacked with a jab, but Percy blocked it with a flick of his wrist. The Titan growled and jabbed and slashed at Percy, who found it more and more difficult to block or dodge every blow as the blows got faster and more violent. Percy quickly summoned his shield and smashed the Titan in the face with it. The Titan groaned in pain and backed up, holding his nose. When Percy went to kill the Titan, the Titan yelled and an invisible force suddenly sent Percy flying several feet back.

Percy got up and charged. The man also charged, swinging his sword at Percy's head with the intent of lopping it off with one swing. Percy slid under the Titan while he swung his sword over Percy's head, just barely missing it.

Percy quickly stood up and rammed the Titan in the chest with his shield as the Titan turned around. The Titan flew back and somehow landed on both his feet. The Titan grinned, obviously barely hurt. Percy scowled. What was it going to take to injure this Titan?

Percy swung his hand outwards and the shadows formed several knives. The knives flew at the Titan who blocked them all.

"For a son of Erebus, you aren't that powerful!" the Titan jeered. He snapped his fingers and several arrows made out of light shot towards Percy before he react. The arrows tore through his skin and vaporized on impact, burning him severely. Percy yelled in pain and collapsed to one knee. Sweat poured down his face and body. He gripped his sword and shield tightly. He got up slowly, but the Titan was already ready for him. The Titan shot several more arrows at him, sending Percy down to one knee again.

Percy panted heavily from exhaustion and pain. He got up quickly and ignored the protests of his screaming muscles. He hurled his shield at the Titan and as the Titan dodged, he summoned several arrows of his own and sent them flying towards the Titan.

The Titan grinned. "Light always triumphs over darkness!" he yelled triumphantly. He sent out a blast of light and disintegrated the shadow arrows. Percy cursed. How was he supposed to defeat this Titan? A plan slowly formed in Percy's head. It wasn't the best plan, but it was the best he had. Hopefully, it would work.

Percy ran towards the Titan who swung his sword at Percy's head. Percy quickly ducked into the shadows and willed a wall of shadows to engulf the Titan. The Titan roared in outrage and began firing off bursts of light, slowly dissipating the shadows. Percy quickly vanished into the shadows and used the same move he had used against Atlas. In a single second, the Titan gained six large deep cuts. Percy reappeared several yards away from the Titan and panted, holding his sword up in a defensive position.

The Titan laughed, surprisingly. Percy's furrowed in confusion. Was his attack unable to weaken the Titan? Before he could figure out what was going on, a bolt of light slammed into Percy's chest and sent him flying back. He landed painfully and groaned. "I must admit, I had expected much more from you, Percy Jackson," the Titan said mockingly. "But I suppose everyone has a disappointing side to them."

Percy tried to get up, but his body wouldn't respond. The best he could manage to do was to lift himself up to one knee. He looked up slowly and his eyes widened in shock as a bolt of light flew at him with blinding speed.

The Titan roared with laughter as he watched the son of Erebus disappear in a cloud of dust and debris. He had to admit, the son of Erebus was a lot easier to kill than what the monsters and other Titans had told him.

The Titan stared at the dust and debris eagerly, waiting for it to clear so that he could see the dead, mangled body of the spawn of Erebus. As the dust and debris cleared, his eyes widened in surprise and shock.

The son of Erebus wasn't even harmed. The dust and debris cloud cleared only to reveal that he was completely fine. Even his old injuries had disappeared, leaving no trace of them having ever existed. The Titan stared in disbelief and fear at the Eye of Fate on Percy's head. He backed up, cursing. Was this the other Percy that Atlas kept blabbering about?

Percy smirked. **_"Ready for your retribution, Titan?"_** he said. His scepter appeared in his hands and glowed with power.

The Titan grinned. Percy kept on smirking, but on the inside, he was taken aback. This wasn't the reaction he had been expecting.

The Titan saluted mockingly. "Well, I've got what I came for. Until next time, Jackson." The Titan disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Percy stood there on the walkway, scowling. **_"What did that Titan come for..?"_** he muttered. Then his eyes widened and he looked up. **_"The scythe!"_ **He disappeared into the shadows and reappeared on the platform. Several monsters were carrying the scythe carefully, but they all burst into golden particles that vanished into thin air as Percy caused the monsters to fade.

Percy immediately went to the fallen scythe and swung his scepter against the blade. The blade shattered, but an explosion of energy erupted from the shattered scythe, blasting Percy back and through the mountain. He flew through the air, barely conscious. The last thing he could remember was landing in the water at some island.

* * *

Percy woke up in some kind of cave. The ceiling glittered with different color crystal formations—white and purple and green. Percy was lying on a comfortable bed with feather pillows and cotton sheets. The cave was divided into sections by white silk curtains. Against one wall stood a large loom and a harp. Against the other wall were shelves neatly stacked with jars of fruit preserves. Dried herbs hung from the ceiling. There was a fireplace built into the cave wall, and a pot bubbling over the flames. Something was cooking. Percy wasn't exactly the best when it came to naming different meals, but he was pretty sure that it was beef stew. Yum.

Percy groaned and sat up slowly, ignoring the pain in his body. He gripped his head and tried to ignore the throbbing sensation. He looked around the room and slowly stood up. His legs shook from the effort and as he took a step forward, he collapsed to one knee. He was already sweating from taking a single measly step. Percy took a deep breath and stood up again, willing the shadows to come to him. They wrapped around his body and Percy immediately felt better. He took a step and sighed in relief as he didn't collapse. Slowly but surely, he made his way to the cave entrance.

The cave opened onto a green meadow. On the left was a grove of cedar trees and on the right a huge flower garden. Four fountains gurgled in the meadow, each shooting water from the pipes of stone satyrs. Straight ahead, the grass sloped down to a rocky cave opened onto a green meadow. On the left was a grove of cedar trees and on the right a huge flower garden. Four fountains gurgled in the meadow, each shooting water from the pipes of stone satyrs. Straight ahead, the grass sloped down to a rocky beach.

There was a girl on the beach talking to someone. She had caramel-color hair braided over one shoulder. She wore a white sleeveless Greek dress with a low circular neckline trimmed in gold. She was quite beautiful, and seemed to be fifteen or sixteen. Still, Percy felt suspicious. If this girl was some kind of monster, then he was in big trouble. He was, at the moment, far too weak to fight. He doubted that he could even lift up his sword in his current condition.

The person the girl was talking to nodded and vanished. The girl turned around and looked at Percy with wide eyes. Percy felt the shadows gather in his hand.

"Who are you? How did I get here? Where am I?" Percy demanded.

"It is alright, brave one. You are safe. I am Calypso," the girl said. She pointed across the beach. "You landed in water over there. I do not know how you survived. The water seemed to cushion your fall. As for where you are, you are on the island of Ogygia."

Percy was silent. "Calypso...daughter of Atlas, right? He's the reason you're imprisoned here."

Calypso nodded. "I supported him in the last great war, and as punishment, the gods have made this island my home and at the same time, my prison."

"I read something about a curse, but I forgot what it was. What did the Fates curse you with?"

Calypso hesitated. For a second, Percy saw panic in her eyes. "I...I cannot say, Percy."

"Wait, how do you know my name?" Percy was suspicious once more, but he kept his face blank.

"You talk in your sleep. By the way, who is Zoë? She seems quite close to you, judging by the amount of times you spoke her name."

Percy suddenly remembered the kiss he and Zoë had shared at Saint Helens. The entire situation suddenly felt really awkward. "Uh...she's a...friend."

"Merely a friend or perhaps more?"

"...I don't know," Percy said. "I honestly have no idea. I guess it's complicated."

Calypso giggled. Percy smiled a little and his smile then faded. He frowned and turned around, searching the forest with his eyes. For some strange reason, he couldn't help but feel like something was off, as if someone or something was watching him. A sudden thought came to Percy.

"Wait, how long was I asleep?" he asked.

Calypso shook her head. "Time is strange here. Perhaps a few days, perhaps over a week? I do not know. I'm sorry."

Percy's eyes widened. "A week?" For all he knew, the Titans could have attacked by now and destroyed Camp Half-Blood. If his friends including Zoë had been killed...no. That couldn't be true. Could it? Percy had to be sure.

"You wish to leave," Calypso said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Percy nodded. "My friends...I can't abandon them. I need to make sure that they're alright."

Calypso hesitated. "I..." She sighed. "I promised not to ask, but..."

Percy frowned in confusion. "But what?"

Calypso looked like she was holding back tears. "Every thousand years or so, the gods allow a hero to wash up on my shores, someone who needs my help. I tend to him and befriend him, but it is never random. The Fates make sure that the sort of hero they send...that they send..."

"You can't help but fall in love with them," Percy said with wide eyes, remembering the myth.

Calypso nodded. "The Fates are cruel. They always seem to enjoy giving others pain. Still, I suppose I must be grateful. My punishment is not nearly as bad as the other Titans."

Percy frowned. "Who controls your punishment? The Fates or the gods?"

Calypso sighed. "The gods are the ones who gave me my punishment. They are the only ones who can take it away."

Percy scowled. "Then they will. Unless they want a son of Erebus on the side of the Titans, they will agree."

Calypso stared at Percy in shock. "You...you are the son of Lord Erebus?"

Percy nodded. "Well, it's kind of complicated." He told Calypso about his parents and his past life. Calypso was a good listener. After he finished, she was silent. "I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I really need to get back," Percy said hesitantly.

Calypso nodded. "Then let us send you off, my brave hero."

Percy turned and saw a small raft floating in the water. He pointed at it. "Is that it?"

Calypso nodded. "Yes. It will take you wherever you need to go."

Percy stepped onto the raft. As it began to sail away, he turned around. "I'm getting you off this island," he called. "I promise. You won't be imprisoned here any longer. Not if I can help it."

Calypso smiled gently. "Thank you, my brave one." She waved and Percy waved back until the island was no longer in sight.

Percy sighed. "Raft, take me to Camp Half-Blood."

* * *

**Alright, it's time for the vote results! **

**Yes: 6 votes**

**No: 7 votes**

**It was pretty close! For those of you who want more of the other Percy, don't worry. The other Percy will appear several times in this story and will actually have more significance in the later stories (that I hope that I will write). **

**To be honest, the other Percy is a bit of an overkill thing, so I actually kind of hoped that "no" would win.**

**Anyways, thanks for all your votes and support! **

**I've decided to just clear some things up now. **

**_2Rachelmax228:_**

**Morus is not the god of doom, Moros. The names are similar, but the beings are very, very different. It will be cleared up later on. Oh, and thanks for the great review!**

**_Wacko12: _**

**Okay, just before I start, dude, I am such a big fan of your work. Your "Knights of Khaos" story was actually the _first_ Fanfic that I had ever read in my life, and I absolutely loved it. It was also actually what inspired me to write my own (though they were pretty bad) fanfics. Keep up your awesome work!**

**Anyways, Tyson and Grover actually don't exist in this universe. Actually, I have no idea. But for now, they don't exist. If you wanted them in the story, I am so sorry.**

**_Guest:_**

**This story will be completed unless I die or go into a permanent vegetative state or something. If I try to abandon at least this story, I want everyone to start screaming at me and flaming me to continue. **

**_Lugiaman14:_**

**Morus is a fictional being and does not exist in mythology. More will be explained later on in the story. **

**_Theon Azul:_**

**First of all, that was a great suggestion, thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, the Mantle of Fate is going to be a good guy without the split personalities, but I don't know, there might be something a little similar that comes up sometime later on...Hehe**

**Anyways, thank you everyone for reviewing and favoriting and of course, reading this story! If you have any suggestions for the story, feel free to leave them in the reviews and I will most definitely read them! **


	12. Tortured Light

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

**Read/Fav/Follow/Review/Enjoy!**

**If you like the the story, why not share it with others? Spread the word!**

***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

The trip to Camp Half-Blood took only a few hours, fortunately (Percy had expected the journey to be several days). Unfortunately, during those few hours, Percy fell asleep and had the worst dream he ever had, and that was saying something.

He was in a dark hallway. Water was slowly dripping from somewhere, leaving the corroded, dirty stone floor spotted with puddles. There were several barred doors on either side of the hallway. As Percy walked down the hallway, he saw a number of varying creatures: from monsters, to mortals, to animals, to other things that Percy couldn't recognize.

Percy frowned. What was this place? If this was a dream, then what was the purpose of this dream? It wasn't exactly normal for Percy to dream about something that looked like a complete rip-off of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Percy was dark, but his dreams had before never been this...well, dark. So it had to be a vision. There was no other plausible explanation why it looked like Percy was reliving that stupid game.

As Percy walked down the hallway and peered at the prisoners in the cells, he noticed that the prisoners near the end of the hallway were all demigods. Percy frowned. He reached for one of the door handles on a cell door, but his hand passed right through it. Percy drew back his hand and kept walking down the hallway, curious to see what demigod would be at the last cell. He stopped in front of the last cell door and peered in. His eyes immediately widened in shock.

It was Alexis, her wrists chained together and to the floor by Celestial Bronze cuffs and chains. She was covered in bruises and cuts, and her clothes were filthy and bloody. From whose blood, Percy didn't want to know, but he had a sinking suspicion that it was her own. Alexis' clothes were very ripped, displaying some areas that Percy thought was too close for comfort.

Percy growled angrily, but of course, nobody heard him. He felt a pounding headache forming, but he ignored it. He knelt down next to Alexis and stared down at her unconscious form with mixed emotions: rage towards whoever did this to her, fear for what would happen to her, and worry if she was going to be alright.

Just then, the cell door swung open and a massive man stepped inside the cell. Percy instinctively summoned Shade to his hand and held his sword in a defensive position above Alexis. As Percy got a better look at the man, he realized with a shock that the man was the same Titan that he had fought in Mount Saint Helens. The same Titan that Percy was pretty sure he was losing to before he went unconscious.

Percy couldn't help but glare at the Titan, who took no notice of him and simply walked forward and straight through Percy. When the Titan passed through Percy, he felt like he was being burned alive. The Titan had frozen in his tracks, obviously having sensed something. The Titan turned around and looked directly at Percy with narrowed eyes filled with so much rage and glee that Percy was sure that he was visible to the Titan. However, the Titan didn't seem to notice anything and instead just turned around and looked down at Alexis. The Titan drew back his right foot and delivered a hard kick to Alexis' side. Alexis woke up quickly with a yelp of pain.

"Get up, whore!" The Titan reached down and unlocked the lock keeping Alexis chained to the floor. He grabbed the chain and pulled roughly, sending Alexis toppling. Alexis groaned in pain and tried to stand up, but she was too slow. The Titan pulled again impatiently and she fell to the ground at the Titan's feet, wincing in pain. "I said _get up_, you hussy!" The Titan pulled the chain upwards hard, lifting Alexis to her feet. Percy noticed several lines of blood trickle from her chained wrists down her arms and drip onto the floor.

Percy almost lost it then. There were no words to describe how much rage he felt. If it wasn't for the fact that he was in a dream, Percy would have wrung the Titan's neck so much that the bastard's head would just pop off. Unfortunately, Percy was forced to watch and follow the Titan and a half-conscious Alexis through several hallways and into a large room. There was a fireplace in the middle of the room with rods of metal sticking out of the fire. Near a wooden pole sat a table. There were all sorts of strange objects on the table and Percy could barely recognize any of them. The room was splattered with dried blood. The room had tunnels leading to all sorts of places. Percy glanced down one tunnel and saw two monsters...er, never mind.

The Titan dragged Alexis over to the wooden pole and chained her to it with her hands chained above her head. The Titan stepped back. "Now then, demigod. Tell me. What is Percy's other side? Our spy has informed us well on how he visits you often and tells you everything. He must have told you about his...other personality." Truth be told, Percy had told Alexis about his other side. Alexis didn't answer and kept her head down. The Titan sighed in mock sadness. Percy could see the excitement that the Titan was holding back.

The Titan walked over to the table and hummed to himself, moving his hand over the objects as if he was trying to decide what to pick. Percy realized then that the room was a torture chamber. His face paled. This had to be just a nightmare. It couldn't be real.

The Titan shook his head in apparent dismay and went to the fireplace. He grabbed a rod and pulled it out of the fire. The end of the rod glowed brightly.

The Titan walked back to Alexis and waved the rod in front of her face. "Remember this, my dear?" Percy's eyes widened in realization. His fists clenched and he struggled not to run and snap the Titan's neck, which wouldn't even work.

Alexis didn't respond. Instead, she started to struggle against her chains, desperately trying to get as far away from the red hot metal rod as possible. The Titan laughed.

"I see your memory's not as bad as it seems," the Titan chuckled. "If you tell me what kind of power your little lover has, then maybe I'll consider sparing you from this punishment. After all, a sweet face such as yours should not be like this, but instead perhaps doing something else." The Titan grinned. Alexis mumbled something. Percy was too far to hear, but it must have been insulting, as the Titan narrowed his eyes.

"You insolent little bitch!" The Titan pressed the glowing rod against Alexis' sternum. Her skin sizzled and smoked. Alexis let out a whimper of pain and shut her eyes tightly from the pain. The Titan narrowed his eyes and twisted the rod before pressing even harder into her skin. Alexis' breaths came in quick gasps and she let out a cry of pain. The Titan laughed triumphantly and pressed his hand against Alexis' back. His hand began to burn and her skin sizzled and blackened. Alexis let out a cry of pain. Percy bit his lip and balled his hands into fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, desperately wishing he could do something.

The Titan grinned and looked up and down Alexis. "You know, you are quite beautiful, I must admit." Alexis' eyes widened. The Titan reached for her shirt and grabbed it tightly.

_"NO! ALEXIS!"_ Percy forgot that he was invisible and ran towards Alexis, but she seemed to get farther with every step.

* * *

Percy sat up, screaming Alexis' name. He panted heavily. He was sweating profusely and wiped the sweat from his head. What was that? Percy slowly gained control over his breathing. He sighed. He was still on the raft that had appeared at Ogygia. Percy gripped his head in pain. He had the worst headache ever at the moment.

After gaining control of this headache, Percy sat back. That dream couldn't be real. Alexis was with Annabeth, the last time Percy checked. There was no way that Annabeth would let Alexis get captured by the Titans. Annabeth would make sure that the Titans never caught them.

Percy's sense of relief faded back into the darkness. "The last time he checked." The last time Percy checked was awhile back. What if Alexis had been captured during the time Percy was unconscious?

Percy leaned back as the raft neared the shore of Camp Half-Blood. From what he could tell, the camp wasn't in flames or smoking or any of that. Good. The camp wasn't burned to the ground yet. Now that he was out of Ogygia and back into the real world, Percy wondered how it long it had been since Mount Saint Helens.

Percy frowned. For some reason, he couldn't remember how he ended up in Ogygia. He just remembered getting blasted with light from that Titan. The next thing he remembered was falling in water and going unconscious after that. Could it be that his other...whatever it was, appeared again? It wasn't exactly all the time that Percy had bouts of random memory loss.

As Percy pondered over what had happened in Mount Saint Helens, a stray thought about his dream intruded his mind. Percy quickly shook his head and cast his thoughts aside. He would think about all that later. For now, he had to check the camp and make sure that it hadn't gotten ambushed by an army of monsters addicted to bath salts.

After a while, the raft reached the shore, and Percy jumped off of it and onto the beach. The golden sand shifted beneath his feet and some sand particles went into his shoes as he walked towards the camp. As he neared the camp, Percy could see something in the distance. His eyes widened when he realized what it was. A plume of smoke was coming from the amphitheater. Percy frowned. It was much to early for campfire songs and s'mores and whatnot. Percy walked towards the smoke and as he neared the amphitheater, he realized that there was no one around. No signs of destruction, no signs of a battle, no sign of anything violent having taken place. It was as if everybody just got up and left the camp.

Or they could all be at the amphitheater, which sounded much more plausible.

As Percy approached the amphitheater, he heard snippets of a speech. It was Chiron. When Percy finally got to the amphitheater, he heard Chiron speaking.

"—assume he is dead," Chiron said. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his best surviving friend to do the final honors."

Percy's widened. What was going on? Had there been an attack on the camp? Did somebody die? Percy walked into the amphitheater and saw that Zoë was burning a shroud that was completely black, almost like the shadows of the night. Percy realized that they were burning his shroud. Zoë seemed to be trying hard not to cry. Nico and Bianca were beside her with morose expressions, and Annabeth looked like she had just cried. Strangely, Alexis was missing. Had she gone back to her father? Percy frowned. Something wasn't right. Normally, he had died, she would be there, mourning. At least that was what he hoped. But then again, one could never be sure about her.

Suddenly, a very bad thought entered Percy's mind. What if she had been captured and was actually being held captive and tortured like what Percy saw in his dream? Percy's jaw clenched. No. That couldn't be right. Alexis was okay and safe. She had to be.

Zoë turned as if to say something, but then she caught sight of Percy. Her face reddened. "You!" she screamed in anger. Percy couldn't help but pale a little.

The other campers immediately turned and faced Percy in shock and surprise. Clarisse and the rest of the Ares cabin let out a groan. Several other campers cheered and one whooped with joy. Orion yelled in anger and stomped off, probably to go complain to his rapist dad at the lake or something.

"Percy!" Beckendorf yelled happily. The campers got up and began to race down in an effort to reach him. Percy immediately dove into a shadow and reappeared next to his almost burnt out shroud.

Suddenly, a fist came out of nowhere and slammed into his face. Percy tumbled to the ground and looked up at Zoë, who was breathing hard from anger. "Where were you?!" she yelled.

Percy stood up, clutching his cheek. "Care to let me explain?" he said a little sarcastically, not wanting to deal with Zoë's sarcasm at the moment. "Or are you going to punch me again?"

Zoë looked taken aback by his reply. Her eyes then narrowed. "Then explain."

"After Saint Helens exploded, I fell unconscious. Next thing I knew, I had landed on an island. I managed to get back here on a raft. That's it." Percy looked around. "What happened after Saint Helens exploded?"

Annabeth walked up to Percy with an expression that Percy wasn't sure whether to be afraid or to be confused. "After Saint Helens exploded, we headed back and found Hephaestus. We told him of what had happened. He helped us get back to camp and after a few days, here we are," Annabeth said. She seemed conflicted about something. "Percy...I...I'm sorry."

Percy's stomach dropped to the floor. He prayed to every god that he wasn't about what he thought he was about to. "About what? And by the way, where's Alexis? Did she go home, or..."

Annabeth looked like she was about to cry. "Alexis, she..." Annabeth closed her eyes, fully remembering what had happened at the mountain.

* * *

_(Flashback):_

_Annabeth and Alexis crept down a set of stairs. The fumes from the lava below made it hard to breathe. All around them, monsters ran across the catwalks, scurrying about in an effort to do gods-knows-what. The air rippled as a massive heat wave went through the air. Annabeth wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed. Alexis didn't seem to be affected a lot by the temperature. It must have been some kind of daughter of Aether thing to be heat resistant or something like that._

_Of course, it drove Annabeth crazy to not know, but whatever. She learned by now to control her curiosity. Kind of._

_Alexis peeked over the catwalk down at the platform. She pointed. "There's Percy and Zoë," she said quietly. "Looks like they haven't been caught yet."_

_Annabeth studied Alexis carefully. "How is he?" Alexis faced her with a questioning look. "Percy. What's he like?"_

_Alexis sighed. She gripped her staff tightly, glancing around and checking for any enemies. "Percy's...he isn't really someone who can be explained. There's just too much to him. But anyways...he's smart, athletic, really, really blunt, but sometimes really sweet. He can be downright infuriating at times, but during other times, he can be the best person in the world to be with. He's also really protective and will go to no end to rescue a friend. I guess that's what I love about him."_

_Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "How is it? Dating Percy? Is it really hard to be his girlfriend?"_

_Alexis frowned. "First of all, we aren't—"_

_"Well, look at what we have here," an amused voice rumbled from behind the two girls. Annabeth and Alexis whirled around to see a massive man dressed in full Greek-style golden battle armor. The man was about seven feet tall and towered over the two girls. He was wielding a golden double-handed sword. The blade was on fire and golden flames fell to the ground every once in a while, hissing and sizzling. The man was completely on fire, bathed in golden flames. Despite the sweltering heat of the forge, Annabeth felt like the heat being emitted by the man was ten times worse than the heat of the forge._

_The man chuckled and his voice rumbled through the forge, shaking the ground with his laugh. Annabeth drew her knife and Alexis hefted her staff. Both girls got into a battle stance. "Hyperion," Alexis muttered. "Titan of the East, the Titan of Light and one of the most powerful Titans. This isn't good. Even with our combined power, the chances of defeating him are slim to none. He and I are both light. The only person who could have a real effect on him would be Percy, and he's preoccupied at the moment."_

_Annabeth nodded. She studied Hyperion carefully, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way to fight the Titans. So far, her mind failed to come up with anything except running away and screaming like a little girl. Annabeth must have shown she was on the verge of panicking because Alexis placed a hand on her shoulder._

_"Don't panic. Take deep breaths. Every opponent has a weakness. If we can get him to reveal his, then we might win. I'll attack and you use your cap to try and find a weak spot. If that doesn't work, then get to Percy and bring him here." Before Annabeth could say or do anything, Alexis leapt forward and disappeared in a flash of light. A flash of light appeared above Hyperion. Alexis reappeared and landed on the Titan's shoulders. The Titan bellowed in outrage and tried to grab at her, but she disappeared again and reappeared behind him, blasting him with a bolt of light. The Titan stumbled back and growled angrily. He swung his sword horizontally, but Alexis ducked and kicked the Titan's legs from under him. Hyperion fell to the ground with a massive thud and got up, bellowing in anger. He threw out his hand and a massive fireball erupted from it. Alexis jumped out of the way and shot a beam of light at the Titan. Hyperion sidestepped and charged towards Alexis, swinging his sword. Alexis blocked the sword with her staff, but the force of the blow was enough to send her stumbling backwards. Hyperion lunged and slammed the daughter of Aether in the chest, sending her flying back. _

_Alexis landed on the ground painfully, rolling on her side a couple times. Her staff had slid off the edge of the catwalk and fallen into the lava below. She got up unsteadily and winced in pain._

_"How can the daughter of a Primordial be so weak?" Hyperion laughed, hefting his blade. __At that time, Hyperion lunged at Annabeth. Annabeth just managed to dodge his first attack and his second one would have decapitated her if Annabeth hadn't blocked his attack with her knife. Unfortunately, her knife went flying and landed behind the Titan. Hyperion swung his sword and Annabeth rolled under it and his legs. She picked up her knife quickly and spun around. Her eyes widened when she got a glimpse of a blade coming down on her head. She held her arms out desperately._

_Just then, something moved in front of her. A shield made out of light formed, but it only slowed Hyperion's blow. His sword cut a long deep cut across Alexis' back, who collapsed to the ground. She wasn't moving.  
_

_Annabeth stared down at Alexis in shock. Alexis slowly opened her eyes a little and mouthed, _Run_. _

_Just then, Hyperion grinned at Annabeth. "Now then, Athena spawn. Time for you to say hello to dear Hades!" He raised his blade and swung downwards at Annabeth's head before she could react. Annabeth would have died, but a bolt of light struck her in the chest and sent her flying backwards. Hyperion's blade ripped only a small cut on her shirt as Annabeth toppled over the edge and landed on another catwalk, right on top of a monster. She quickly regained her composure and stabbed the monster. She then got up and looked up. She saw Hyperion throw Alexis' limp body onto his shoulder and vanish in a flash of light along with another Titan who was also dressed in golden armor._

_(End Flashback)_

* * *

"After that, I ran. I met up with Zoë and then the volcano exploded. We were both in the Labyrinth at the time when the explosion took place," Annabeth finished. She watched Percy with an apprehensive expression. Percy hadn't spoken a word during Annabeth's entire story.

The campers were silent. Percy looked off into the distance with an indistinguishable expression. Without turning around, he spoke. "We're going back." His voice was steely and tight. Annabeth and Zoë could almost feel the anger rolling off of him.

"Percy, it's been several days since she was captured. She might be dead by now and—"

Percy spun around and pointed his bladed at Annabeth's neck. His eyes had turned completely black and hollow. A black fog began to settle near the ground and at everybody's feet.

Zoë watched in shock as Percy's sword flickered between a blade and a scepter. "We are going back," Percy repeated. "And anyone who gets in my way will die. I will not abandon Alexis." He turned around. "If you're coming, then we leave now." With that, he walked off into the forest.

Zoë and Annabeth glanced at each other before they followed quickly.

* * *

Annabeth and Zoë were silent as they followed Percy through the Labyrinth. Even though it had been several hours, his anger hadn't faded even a little.

So far, they encountered no monsters, but sooner or later, Zoë knew that they would.

Strangely, whether it was due to Percy's anger or perhaps his Mantle of Fate or some other reason, the Labyrinth did not have any tricks for the group. It just kept leading them through a straight tunnel with no turns or twists or rooms or anything. Just a simple tunnel that never seemed to end.

After a few more hours of walking, the group sat down in order to rest. Annabeth immediately went to sleep, but Zoë and Percy stayed awake. Percy leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, still scowling. As she watched Percy, Zoë thought about the prophecy. Only two, maybe three or four, of the lines had been completed.

"What do you have against Alexis?" Zoë faced Percy in surprise, caught off-guard by his sudden question. He glared at the ground and wasn't facing her. "I've seen how you glare at her every once in a while. What has she every done to you?"

Zoë didn't answer for a while. She didn't know how to answer his question. If she confessed, Percy would probably push her away and leave. She didn't want to ruin their friendship because of that. Still, she had no choice.

Just as she was about to answer, Percy spoke again. "Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden? What, do you not approve of the relationship that I have with Alexis?"

Zoë sighed. "It's just that..." She glanced at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena was still asleep. "I feel jealous." Her answer was so quite that Percy almost missed it.

"About what?"

"Your relationship with her. How...intimate you two are."

Percy stared at Zoë. "You think we're dating?" Zoë didn't answer, but her silence was a good enough answer for Percy. "Zoë, Alexis and I aren't dating." Zoë looked up at Percy confusedly and in shock. "The reason why I care so much about Alexis is because she's part of my family. She's my niece, Zoë, not my girlfriend. And that's why, when I find those two Titans, I'm going to tear them apart."


	13. The Arena of the Labyrinth

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

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* * *

Percy, Zoë, and Annabeth continued through the Labyrinth. They traveled through the twisting, turning tunnels for a few hours before they heard it.

The cries of a girl.

One girl, to be specific.

Alexis.

Before Zoë and Annabeth could react, Percy took off towards the sound. Quickly, the two girls followed so that they would not lose him. Percy led them through a network of twisting tunnels and sudden turns without any signs of hesitation. It was almost as if he was possessed by something. Hopefully not.

Soon, the trio stopped at a large room. Percy drew Shade and held it up. The black sword gleamed in the firelight.

The room was completely empty save for a wooden pole and a fireplace. There was dried blood everywhere. Percy scowled. The room was similar to the one in his dream, but it wasn't the same. This had to be a trick by the Titans in an effort of throwing Percy off.

"Hyperion! Come out, you coward!" Percy shouted. His voice echoed throughout the room and bounced off the walls of the hallways. Nothing. There was a rustling sound, but nothing could be seen. The dimly lit room didn't help much either. Percy glanced to the right with narrowed eyes. _Someone's here,_ he thought, gripping his sword tightly. Hiding in the shadows. He held out his hand and the shadows exploded. Four Cyclopes flew out of the darkness and tumbled to the ground in a dirty, smelly dog pile.

The Cyclopes stood up, hefting their clubs. They grinned at Percy and charged, taunting him in Alexis' voice. Percy snapped. A few seconds later, the Cyclopes were nothing but piles of dust. The shadows swirled around Percy, forming an aura of darkness. The shadows also enveloped his sword, making it seem like he was wielding a weapon of pure darkness. The temperature in the room fell rapidly and the fire went out, casting the room into darkness.

In the pitch black darkness, Zoë thought she heard a very faint deep laugh from somewhere—everywhere, in fact. It was as if the darkness itself had learned how to speak. Zoë wanted to reach for her hunting knives, but she couldn't get her body to move. She stayed frozen in place, and she could feel Annabeth also frozen.

Suddenly, the room lit up, even though there was no light source. Zoë immediately looked around the room, her knives drawn. Nothing. Frowning, she turned back to Percy and nearly dropped her knives in shock. Percy was glaring at...Percy. The doppelganger was mirroring Percy's actions save for a really creepy grin and a wild gleam in his eyes, a lot like a serial killer's eyes right before he murdered someone. On the doppelgangers forehead was a red upside-down pentagram surrounded by a circle. The symbol glowed harshly.

"Percy!" Zoë said. Percy turned to her with a questioning look and the doppelganger vanished, leaving no trace of having ever existed at all. "Did...didn't you see that copy of you?"

Percy frowned. "Copy? What copy? I didn't see anything, Zoë."

"You were staring right at it."

Percy's frown deepened. "There wasn't anything there, Zoë. You alright?" He looked around the room. "This room might cause hallucinations. Maybe we should leave. Alexis isn't here anyways."

"Y-yeah." Zoë followed Percy out of the torture chamber with Annabeth following the two. Annabeth caught up to Zoë and looked at her questioningly. Zoë sighed and shrugged. As she did, she saw the same doppelganger grinning at her from the shadows. Four years, he mouthed. Then he vanished into the shadows, leaving Zoë pale and thoroughly shaken. In the demigod world, if somebody told someone an amount of time, the amount of time usually meant only one thing: how long until that person died.

Unknown by any of the three demigods, the red pentagram glowed faintly on Percy's forehead before vanishing out of sight.

* * *

Percy, Zoë, and Annabeth continued through the Labyrinth. Percy was tempted to call Alexis' father, Aether, to just lay complete waste to the Titans, but that would be violating nearly every ancient law that the immortals had to obey. And besides, Aether tended to be a bit of a dick sometimes.

As the trio walked, Percy felt something shift in the shadows. He swung his sword and sliced a fortune cookie out of mid-air. The broken fortune cookie fell to the ground and the paper inside showed several hieroglyphs depicting two men, one coming out from a hole in the ground and the other coming out from a hole in the sky.

"Two Titans await you," a lady with short, black hair said, stepping out from the shadows. She was wearing a red jacket, black jeans, and black boots. A brown whip hung from her belt. Behind her was a motorcycle seemed to be made completely out of smoke and the shadows. "Both control light."

Percy's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't matter who they are, they'll die for what they did to Alexis. You're the goddess of justice. Don't you agree that they deserve what they get?"

Nemesis shook her head. "I am against them, but not for the same reasons as you. One of the Titans is supposed to be dead. It should have been impossible for him to return and yet he has. One Titan of Light from Tartarus, and the other from the Void."

Percy frowned. "Nothing can escape the Void. The only way something like that could happen is...well, never."

"That is beside the point, brother. My point is that I want you to kill both of the Titans. The balance between life and death must be restored. Once you kill the Titan, the one who escaped the Void will return to the Void."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you can tell me who it is?"

Nemesis shook her head again. "I might be on their side, but the two Titans are hidden from me."

Percy sighed. "Thanks anyways."

Nemesis nodded. "Your power alone won't be enough to destroy them, little brother. You will need help."

Percy thought about his other side, whatever it was. "I know. I know a...guy." Percy supposed at the very least, that was what he could call his other self.

Nemesis tossed a fortune cookie in the air and caught it, studying it with a disturbed expression. "There's been a disturbance in fate. Our three hag sisters are running all over the place trying to restore fate to its intended course, but they aren't able to do much."

"Why not ask Ananke then?"

Nemesis seemed hesitant about her answer. "Ananke...she hasn't been responding. She's gone into a dormant phase, though nobody knows why. Mother's looking into it right now, but she hasn't found a reason why. Or it could be that she just isn't sharing."

"I'm guessing the latter."

Nemesis grinned. She tossed Percy three fortune cookies. "You'll need them if you want to get past the guards. Each one should last a few minutes. Good luck." She and the motorcycle faded into the darkness.

Percy pocketed the fortune cookies. He felt anxious to get to Alexis. It was infuriating. He was so close to her, but at the same time, he could be miles away from getting to her.

"Percy?" Percy turned and faced the two girls. "Who was that?" Zoë asked.

"That was my sister," Percy said. "Nemesis, goddess of revenge and justice."

Annabeth frowned. "I thought she was on the Titans' side."

Percy grinned. "She is, but that doesn't mean that she'll actually fight for them. She'll probably just hang around and see who wins. Besides, she's more focused on the balances in the universe and justice and such."

Zoë frowned. "Then—"

"Wait." Percy held up a hand and stared into the darkness of the tunnels. He walked a few feet down the hallway. "Somebody's there."

A chuckle alerted Percy and he spun around, reaching for his sword. Annabeth and Zoë were being held captive by several monsters—Cyclopes. Behind them were several dracaenae wielding shields and spears.

Percy growled. "Let them go." He raised his sword in preparation for a strike, but one of the Cyclops grabbed Annabeth's neck and squeezed, making her cry out in pain.

"You three will be nice additions to the arena," the Cyclops rumbled, grinning. "If you don't obey, then we'll kill your friends."

Percy sneered. The Cyclops holding Annabeth's neck began to squeeze harder, cutting off her air flow. Percy immediately dropped his sword into the shadows. The Cyclopes gestured for him to follow. They chained his wrists and then led him through the tunnels to a set of bronze doors. They were about ten feet tall, emblazoned with a pair of crossed swords. From behind them came a muffled roar, like from a crowd.

Zoë looked back at Percy and saw a massive amount of fear in his eyes. He looked at her for a moment before looking back at the doors.

The Cyclopes pushed Percy through the doors and then they also entered. Percy looked up and his jaw went slack. Plain stone benches wrapped all the way around the arena, and every seat was full. There were giants, dracaenae, demigods, telekhines, and stranger things. The arena was decorated with skulls. They ringed the edge of the railing and three-foot-high piles of them decorated the steps between the benches. They grinned from pikes at the back of the stands and hung on chains from the ceiling like horrible chandeliers. Some of them looked very old—nothing but bleached-white bone. Others looked a lot fresher, covered in blood and with bits of tissue still attached to them, as if the skin and tissue had been violently ripped off the bone. Proudly displayed on the side of the spectator's wall was a green banner to Poseidon. Percy rolled his eyes at this. It wasn't too surprising to him that this arena would have a banner of Olympus' constantly-PMS-ing god.

Percy looked around. There had to be over five hundred monsters in the arena and that was a lot more than what he could handle.

A cage sat next to the arena, and the Cyclopes pushed Annabeth and Zoë into it. The two girls had been stripped of their weapons beforehand. Zoë glanced at Percy worriedly. Just then, the crowd cheered and a centaur landed a few feet away from Percy.

The centaur looked at Percy pleadingly. "Please help!"

Before Percy could do anything, the centaur's opponent, a massive giant, bounded over and planted his foot on the centaur's chest before looking up towards the spectators. "DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!" they cried eagerly. A giant stood up and held out his hand. He gave a thumbs down sign. The giant stabbed his javelin into the centaur's head and the centaur burst into dust. All that was left of him was a single hoof, which the giant scooped up and displayed proudly to the crowd. The crowd went mad, cheering wildly. The giant walked out of the arena and into a gate on the other side.

In the stands, the giant stood up and raised his hands for silence. After a few seconds, the monsters quieted.

"Good entertainment!" he bellowed. "But nothing I haven't seen before. What else do you have, Luke, Son of Hermes?"

Luke stood up. "Lord Antaeus," Luke said, loud enough for the crowd to hear. "You have been an excellent host! We would be happy to amuse you, to repay the favor of passing through your territory."

"A favor I have not yet granted," Antaeus growled, smashing a fist into his open palm. "I want entertainment!"

Luke bowed. "I believe I have something better than centaurs to fight in your arena now." Luke grinned down at Percy. "This is Percy Jackson, the son of Erebus. He is the most powerful demigod from Camp Half-Blood."

A murmur passed through the crowd. Some stared at Percy with wide eyes, while others glared at him.

Antaeus grinned. "A son of a Primordial god, eh? Just like me! He should fight well! Or die well!"

"If his death pleases you," Luke said, "will you let our armies cross your territory?"

"Perhaps!"

Luke scowled. He glared down at Percy, who, despite his growing fear and worry, smirked back at him.

Antaeus looked down at him with bright eyes, like a little child receiving his favorite toy for Christmas, eager to play with it and see what it did. "So, Percy Jackson! Weapons! And then we will see how you die. Will you have axes? Shields? Nets? Flamethrowers?"

Percy's eyes narrowed. "Show me my opponent, and then I'll decide."

"Very well! Round one!" Antaeus sat back on his three seats. The gates opened and a dracaena slithered out. She held a trident in one hand and a weighted net in the other—classic gladiator style. "Well then, son of Erebus. What will your weapon of choice be?"

Percy smirked. "Against this opponent? I don't need any."

The crowd jeered and laughed, but Antaeus just grinned. "I like your style, Jackson! Now fight!"

The dracaena slithered towards Percy with surprising speed. When the dracaena reached a few feet from him, Percy yelled and swung his hand upwards. The shadows responded and a shadow spike ripped through the dracaena. With a painful wail, she vaporized and the cheering of the crowd died.

"No!" Antaeus bellowed. "Too fast! You must wait for the kill. Only I give that order!"

Percy glared up at the giant. "My fight, my rules. Accept it or deal with it, son of Poseidon."

The crowd was silent at Percy's words. Antaeus was silent as well. Then he let a bellow of laughter. "So the son of Erebus knows who I am, eh? Very well, demigod. I am the son of Poseidon and Gaea, and I am completely invulnerable! Not even the gods can kill me!"

_Not even the gods? What a joke. _Percy's eyes widened and he looked around for the source of that voice. It felt like he had thought it, but at the same time, it felt like he hadn't.

Antaeus glared down at Percy. "Round two! And slower this time! More entertainment! Wait for my call before killing anybody. OR ELSE!"

The gates opened and a massive monster came out. It was easily ten feet tall with the head of a bull and the body of the man. The Minotaur. It huffed and immediately charged at Percy, who fell into the shadows and reappeared behind the monster. The Minotaur spun around and grabbed an ax from his back with a blade that was shaped like a Greek Omega. He swung the ax and Percy. Percy quickly sidestepped and as he did, he willed Shade to appear. His blade flew out of the shadows and into his hand, drawing a large amount of cheers from the crowd. The Minotaur swung his ax downward towards Percy head with enough force to split his entire body in half, but Percy sidestepped. The ax blade slammed into the earth. Percy quickly jumped towards the Minotaur and grabbed the monster's horn. He used it to swing around the Minotaur and landed on his back. Percy stabbed downward into the Minotaur's head and the monster grunted in pain before falling to the ground and vaporizing.

"No one dishonors the games!" Antaeus bellowed, standing up. "Your heads shall both be tributes to Poseidon!" Before the giant could do anything, Luke stood up and whispered into his ear. Antaeus seemed to calm down and listen to the son of Hermes, which made Percy nervous. What was Luke planning now?

Antaeus grinned and stood back up. "Very well! For your punishment, Percy Jackson, you will be disqualified from the fight, and one of your friends will take your place!" _What?! _Percy thought. He gripped his sword tightly and got ready to vanish into the shadows, but a giant grabbed him and his sword and tossed him into the cage with Annabeth and Zoë. The giant then tossed his sword into the stands, where several monsters began to fight over it. Percy willed the sword to disappear into the shadows. The monsters cried out in shock and disappointment as the sword faded into the darkness before their very eyes.

"The replacement for Percy Jackson will be...Zoë Nightshade, the ex-Huntress of Artemis!" The crowd went wild, screaming for Zoë's death. Obviously, many of them had bad experiences with her.

The cage opened and a giant grabbed Zoë before Percy could do anything. "No!" Percy tried to grab her, but the cage door slammed on him, sending him tumbling to the ground. "Zoë!"

The Laistrygonian Giant pushed Zoë into the arena. Her bow and hunting knives appeared on the ground in front of her. She picked them up and gripped her bow tightly.

"Since you are Jackson's replacement, you will be fighting in round three!" Antaeus shouted.

The crowd went wild. "BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!"

The gates opened slowly. Then out from the gates burst out a massive monster. It had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, a blood-caked mane, and a ten-foot-long diamondback snake-headed tail which grew out of its shaggy behind. The Chimera. Percy paled. He looked around the cage for a way out, but there were no shadows.

The Chimera roared at Zoë and pounced. Zoë immediately rolled to the side and fire a barrage of arrows at the Chimera's head while backing up quickly, obviously with the intention of getting away from the Chimera's snake tail.

The Chimera roared in pain and opened its mouth. A torrent of flame burst from it and Zoë just managed to sidestep it. Heat bathed her and slapped her in the face. She leaped over the Chimera's snake tail and grabbed her hunting knife. She slammed it into the snake tail, pinning it to the ground and killing the snake. The crowd cheered wildly at Zoë's impressive move. The Chimera roared in pain and pounced at Zoë, breathing fire. Zoë shot an arrow into one of its eyes and rolled to the side as the Chimera barreled past her. The monster screamed in pain and spun around. Zoë quickly fired another arrow into its other eye, blinding it.

The Chimera fell to the ground, shrieking. Zoë nocked an arrow and was about to fire it when another gate opened and a Cyclops charged out from it, swinging his club wildly. Zoë just barely managed to dodge the club. As she dodged, the Chimera slammed into her. She fell to the ground and rolled back up, wincing in pain. The crowd cheered.

She didn't show it, but Percy could clearly see the fear in Zoë's eyes.

The Cyclops bounded towards her and raised his club. Percy's eyes widened. An unimaginable rage filled him and he swung his hand, yelling, praying that the shadows would respond the way he wanted.

Percy's sword shot out of the shadows and buried itself to the hilt into the Cyclops head. The Cyclops stumbled back and vaporized, dropping the sword onto the Chimera's head, killing that as well.

The crowd fell silent. "Jackson!" Antaeus roared. "You will pay for your disobedience!"

Percy growled. He then grinned. "You've never actually fought a child of a Primordial god, have you?" As he said this, Percy phased straight through the bars of the cage, turning into pure shadow. The monsters leaned away from him and some cried out in shock and fear.

Antaeus' eyes widened before they narrowed. "A nice trick, but that won't help you survive, demigod! Monsters! Kill Jackson!"

Percy glared at the giant. He pulled his sword out of the shadows and pointed it at Antaeus. "Fight me yourself, Antaeus. Or are you too cowardly to fight me?"

The monsters grumbled in the stands. Antaeus looked around, and apparently realized he had no choice but to accept Percy's challenge. "I am the greatest wrestler in the world, boy," he warned. "I have been wrestling since the first pankration!"

"Winner takes all! I win, we all go free. You win, we die. Swear upon the River Styx."

Antaeus laughed. "This shouldn't take long. I swear to your terms!" He leaped over the railing and landed in the arena with a large thud. The ground shook as the son of Gaea made his entrance.

Antaeus cracked his knuckles. "Weapons?"

Percy held out his sword. Antaeus grinned. "I don't need any weapons! Master Luke, you will referee this one."

Luke smirked down at Percy. "With pleasure."

Antaeus lunged at Percy, who rolled under the giant's legs. Percy slashed across the giant's back and vanished into the shadows. He reappeared and stabbed the giant in the back as Antaeus turned around.

"Arggh!" Antaeus yelled in pain. He spun around and lunged, but Percy ducked under the first strike. The shadows solidified and rammed Antaeus in the face, sending him stumbling backwards. Percy immediately lunged and stabbed Shade into Antaeus' chest. The sword sank all the way to the hilt, but Antaeus didn't disintegrate. Percy noticed now that Antaeus wasn't even bleeding. From his wounds poured out sand.

Antaeus grabbed Percy's sword and threw it behind him. Antaeus grinned at Percy. "Now you will see why I never lose!" The dirt from the arena crawled up Antaeus' body and covered the wound completely before falling back to the ground. The wounds were completely gone.

Percy's eyes widened. Antaeus let out a chuckle before lunging again. Percy jumped back into the shadows and reappeared next to his sword. He quickly grabbed it and swung it just as Antaeus let loose a punch towards Percy's face.

Antaeus let loose a bellow of pain as his severed hand fell to the ground, bursting into sand. Percy felt a sense of triumph, but it didn't last very long, as the earth rose and morphed into a completely new hand.

Percy cursed. Gaea, despite being asleep, still protected her son. As long as he was in her embrace, Gaea would keep raising Antaeus. The only way to defeat Antaeus was to separate him from the earth. A plan slowly began to form in Percy's mind.

Antaeus charged at Percy. With a yell, Percy swung his hand in an upward motion. The shadows responded violently and lashed out, grabbing Antaeus. They tossed him into the air. Percy clapped his hands together and two massive walls of shadow smashed into Antaeus. He burst into sand.

Percy collapsed to one knee from exhaustion and was covered in sweat. He panted, gasping for air.

The monsters were silent at the display of Percy's powers.

Just then, the dirt began to shift. Percy looked up in shock and surprise. His eyes widened as Antaeus slowly reformed from the earth. _It should have killed him...he died in the air! _Percy thought, shocked.

Antaeus grinned triumphantly. "Now you see why I cannot die here, boy! We are in the Labyrinth, under the earth! I am always in Gaea's embrace!"

Percy gritted his teeth. He had been weakened by his last attack. He couldn't fight Antaeus in this state.

Antaeus let out a laugh before he charged at Percy with the intent of smashing the son of Erebus to a pulp. Just then, a shroud of darkness formed over Percy. Antaeus smashed into it full-force and bounced off, tumbling to the ground.

"What is this?!" he demanded, standing up.

The shadows shifted. A massive column of darkness shot out from the shadows and slammed into the ground. The darkness exploded outward as if it was made of gases, fading in the air like smoke. A black fog began to settle in the arena and the torchlight dimmed.

A figure stood up. He was clad in Greek style armor as black as Night and was armed with nothing but a glowing black scepter. Underneath his armor, he wore a black t-shirt and black jeans. His eyes and hair were completely black, almost like Percy's. The man was a splitting image of his father.

"Night," Percy said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't let you have _all_ the fun, now can I?" Night grinned. He faced Antaeus. "If you're as powerful as you say you are, let's see you defeat me."

Antaeus grinned. "This won't take too long." He charged at Night.

Night smirked. His forehead suddenly glowed as a red pentagram appeared on it. "Shroud of Darkness!" He pointed at Antaeus. The shadows surrounded him, trapping him in a floating ball of darkness. "Gaea can't help you now, Antaeus." A short bellow of pain rang out before everything went silent. The shadows dissipated, leaving no trace of Antaeus.

Night turned to Percy. The symbol on his forehead vanished. "Alexis is almost dead. You need to get to her quickly, or it'll be too late."

Percy stood up slowly. "Where?"

Night pointed at the shadows and a whirling portal of darkness appeared. "This is the closest I can take you." The cage door holding Annabeth flew off of its hinges, smashing into the Lastrygonian giants guarding the cage and killing them. Annabeth ran out and grabbed her knife. "Now go!" Night grabbed Zoë, Percy, and Annabeth and pushed them into the portal.

* * *

The three landed on a metal catwalk. Percy looked around for monsters, but nothing came to attack them. He looked down and his anger flared.

They had reached the torture chamber.

* * *

**I am back! I finally read Blood of Olympus, and it was great! Although, I kind of did expect more of a climax in the final battle. I mean, Gaea awakening—great twist and all, but I didn't really like how she was almost immediately defeated. Same goes for the Gigantes—they were defeated way too quickly for my taste.**

**But whatever. Still a great story! I'm looking forward to the new series with the Norse gods.**

**Now to answer some questions.**

_**silvershadow513:**_

**Yes, the Fates are the children of Erebus and Nyx—Nyx even states this in the House of Hades (er, spoiler).**

_**PerseusTheSlayer:**_

**First of all, thanks for the great review. **

**Anyways, the "Fate weapon" appearing so often will change later on, so don't worry. I have several plans in mind for this (and no, I'm not telling anyone).**

_**almisk: **_

**Sorry if it's too dark for you. I'll just warn you now so that you aren't horrified later on—there will be several dark themes in the series. **

**_Fanfictiongirl:_**

**You forgot to add a space between a few of the "Pleases."**

**Anyways, I would like to thank everyone else for the reviews, and I hope you all continue to give me your opinions! **

**And as always, suggestions are always welcome.**

**Cheers.**


	14. Game of Illusion

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

**Read/Fav/Follow/Review/Enjoy!**

***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

There was a fireplace in the middle of the room with rods of metal sticking out of the fire. Near a wooden pole sat a table. There were all sorts of strange objects on the table. The room was splattered with dried blood.

Percy drew his sword and was about to jump down from the catwalk, but just then, a gate opened and the same Titan from his nightmare entered the room, dragging Alexis. Percy heard a gasp from beside him and he heard Zoë growl softly. He ignored it and watched. With each second that passed, his anger grew and he wanted nothing more than to jump down and kill the Titan, but something wasn't right. He could feel the presence of another Titan. He couldn't locate where—just that there was another Titan somewhere here. Recklessly diving in would only get him killed.

The Titan tied Alexis to the wooden post and stepped back. "Now then, demigod. Tell me. What is Percy's other side? Our spy has informed us well on how he visits you often and tells you everything. He must have told you about his...other personality." Percy felt a sudden sense of déjà vu. He was sure that he had heard those exact sentences before in his nightmare.

Alexis didn't seem to respond and simply get her head down. Percy saw the Titan sigh in mock sadness and walk over to the table. After a while, the Titan chose a rod from the fire and held it. He walked back to Alexis. "Remember this, my dear?" Percy's eyes widened. Had his dream been a vision to the future?

Alexis began to struggle and the Titan laughed. "I see your memory's not as bad as it seems," the Titan chuckled. "If you tell me what kind of power your little lover has, then maybe I'll consider sparing you from this punishment. After all, a sweet face such as yours should not be like this, but instead perhaps doing something else." Percy wanted to rip the Titan's head off so badly, his hands twitched and tingled.

Alexis mumbled something in reply. "You insolent little bitch!" The Titan roared. The Titan pressed the glowing rod against Alexis' sternum. Her skin sizzled and smoked. Alexis let out a whimper of pain and shut her eyes tightly from the pain. The Titan narrowed his eyes and twisted the rod before pressing even harder into her skin. Alexis' breaths came in quick gasps and she let out a cry of pain. The Titan laughed triumphantly and pressed his hand against Alexis' back. His hand began to burn and her skin sizzled and blackened. Alexis let out a cry of pain.

The Titan looked up and down Alexis. "You know, you are quite beautiful, I must admit." The Titan reached for her shirt and grabbed it tightly. Percy grabbed the railing and prepared to jump down.

"That's enough!" a voice bellowed and Percy stumbled, caught off guard. He looked right and saw a golden Titan walk towards the first Titan. "It's my turn now, Helios."

_Helios? _Percy thought in shock. _He should have faded!_ He then remembered what Nemesis had said to him. _One of the Titans is supposed to be dead. It should have been impossible for him to return and yet he has. One Titan of Light from Tartarus, and the other from the Void._

Helios had to be the Titan who had escaped the Void. But how? There was no way that Helios could escape. Nothing matched up.

Helios grinned at Hyperion. "Have fun, dear father. Leave some room in her for me." He walked away and as he did, Percy caught sight of Helios' eyes. They were completely white and glowed eerily. Last time Percy checked, no God or Titan of Light had white eyes. Something was wrong.

Hyperion turned to Alexis. "Well, well, my little whore. Ready to have some fun? My mistresses often tell me that I am the most massive of the Titans." Alexis struggled desperately against her bonds.

Percy's rage snapped.

* * *

A sudden shroud of darkness filled the room, casting the room into the shadows. Zoë reached for her hunting knifes, but they were gone. She turned and saw that Percy was also missing from his spot. She looked at Annabeth with a questioning look, but Annabeth frowned and shook her head. Zoë looked around the room and then saw a faint symbol of an eye glowing in the darkness. The other Percy was here.

Hyperion bellowed in surprise and outrage. "Who turned off the lights? Was that you again, Arwin?!" he shouted. No answer. The darkness suddenly cleared.

Hyperion growled. "I told Arwin to stop messing with the lights," he muttered. He turned back to Alexis and grinned. He reached for her shirt, planning to tear it off.

_**"Heh,"**_ a voice chuckled from the darkness._** "Looks like I've found my next challenge." **_

Hyperion spun around and saw Percy standing in the shadows, smirking. Percy's eyes had turned completely black and wisps of darkness rolled off of him. The Eye of Fate glowed brightly on his forehead. The darkness enveloped half of Percy, exposing only half of Percy's face and adding onto the fear that rolled through the room.

"So you're the spawn of darkness," Hyperion snarled. He drew his sword. "Light always trumps darkness, meaning that you are no match for me, boy!" Hyperion raised his sword.

Percy grinned. He scoffed.**_ "Fighting...how boring. Let's play a game, shall we? A game of fate."_** Zoë felt the atmosphere suddenly shift as Percy said the last sentence. It was as if the universe itself was preparing for something big to happen.

Hyperion growled. "A game of fate? This should be interesting. Since you'll die either way, I suppose I'll accept your puny challenge."

Percy's grin widened. He snapped his fingers and the ground cracked. Hyperion yelled in shock. A fissure opened up between Alexis and Hyperion, seperating the two. The bonds holding Alexis snapped and she collapsed to the ground before disappearing into the shadows. She reappeared right next to Zoë and Annabeth and the two girls immediately worked on breaking the chains holding her.

The ground then shifted, moving Hyperion towards Percy. A circle formed on the ground. Inside the circle was the normal dirt floor. Outside the circle but within the boundaries of the fissure was an inky black void.**_ "The rules are simple. We'll take turns spinning a knife, and the one who spun it will take one step in the direction that the knife is pointing. The one to fall off the edge loses, and he will suffer a terrible fate. An eternity in the realm of__ Chaos."_** Percy's grin didn't shrink but rather grew larger. However, Zoë could see a fiery rage in his eyes.

Hyperion growled. "And where will you get the knives for this silly game?"

**_"We'll use these knives to play." _**Percy pulled out Zoë's hunting knives. He tossed them high into the air. The first knife landed in the ground and sank to its hilt into the floor. The second knife landed on the first knife and somehow stayed balanced on its side on the pommel of the first knife. Hyperion stared at Percy in shock.

Percy grinned.**_ "When you say 'start,' the top knife will spin on the bottom. Now then...game, start!"_**

Hyperion grinned. "Then I'll go first! Start!" The top knife immediately spun. It soon slowed down and stopped. It was pointing in the direction of the center of the circle. Hyperion bellowed with laughter. "Looks like my victory is already ensured!"

Percy smiled, but it was the kind of smile somebody made when he/she pretended to be impressed, but in truth wasn't at all. _**"Pretty good, Titan. I suppose its my turn now."**_ He looked down at the knife. _**"Start!"**_

The knife immediately began to spin again. When it came to a halt, the knife pointed in the direction of the black chasm leading to the Void. Percy raised an eyebrow and smirked. _**"Heh, looks like I was a little unlucky."** _He took one step towards the chasm.

Hyperion's grin widened. "Start!" The knife pointed towards the center. Hyperion shot a smug look at Percy. He had to admit, he was enjoying this game. It was amusing to see the son of Erebus take one step at a time towards his inevitable doom.

Percy glanced at the knife. _**"I'll admit, Titan, you're pretty good at this game,"** _he said in an awed voice. However, Zoë could hear the sarcasm in his voice. Hyperion didn't seem to have noticed anything. **_"Start!"_** The knife spun again, pointing at the chasm. Percy took another step. A small bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Hyperion spun the knife and it pointed at the center again. Percy spun it and it pointed towards the chasm again. Hyperion let out a roar of laughter. "Looks like I'm going to win this game!" Percy's eyebrows furrowed and a hint of worry appeared on his face. "Where's that confidence of yours now, boy?"

Percy smirked. **_"I forgot to mention one thing, Hyperion. This game of fate is a game of illusions as well. A game of temptation,"_** Percy said as he walked towards the chasm.

"A game of temptation?" Hyperion repeated, frowning. "What on earth are you talking about, boy?"

Percy grinned.**_ "Look behind you."_**

Hyperion turned and hovering above the chasm, he saw Zeus' master bolt, crackling with electricity and giving off an aura of power. His eyes widened and his greed surged up, screaming in his ear to run and grab the bolt. With immense difficulty, Hyperion turned away from the bolt and glared at Percy. "What is this trickery?"

Percy gestured to the chasm. _**"The farther you get from the chasm, the more vivid the illusions become. They will tempt you and drive to run off the edge and into the chasm below. Since I'm already near the edge, the illusions I see are weak and ineffective."**_

Hyperion grinned inwardly. He could just avoid the illusions by never turning around and win this game. "Start!" The knife pointed towards the center. For Percy, the knife pointed at the chasm again. One more step, and Percy would fall into the chasm and lose the game. The chasm was already pulling at him. He could feel his mind and essence beginning to dissolve as the Void began to absorb him. A massive spike of pain struck his chest like a bullet. He gritted his teeth and winced. He couldn't lose. He wouldn't.

Hyperion spun the knife, grinning. The knife pointed towards the center. Percy spun the knife.

It pointed at the chasm. Percy went still, his eyes wide in shock and for the first time, fear. He had lost the game. His own game of fate...he had lost. The pain in his chest grew and howling wind whipped through his clothes. He could sense the Void urging him to take his final step, sealing his fate.

Hyperion laughed. "What's the matter, boy? Take your final step!"

Percy glanced up at Zoë and Annabeth. He had failed them. He glanced at Alexis. He had failed to rescue her. To save her. And worst of all, he had failed his host, condemning both himself and his host to the Void. Percy glanced at Hyperion and frowned.

Hyperion's expression had suddenly gone slack and his eyes filled with greed and jealousy. His hands twitched. Percy looked in the direction of what Hyperion was looking at and saw the scythe of Kronos. His eyes widened. A feeling of triumph and hope filled his body, temporarily dispelling the immense pain in his chest. He turned to Hyperion. The Eye of Fate glowed brighter. _**"That's right, Hyperion. Give into your greed. Your jealousy. You said yourself once that you are the most powerful of the Titans, and that you deserved to wield the scythe. Kronos has not awakened yet. There is your chance to claim your prize. All you need to do is reach out and grab it!" **_

Hyperion charged towards the scythe and grabbed it, laughing triumphantly. Percy grinned. _**"Looks like I win, Titan."** By a close one at that,_ he thought. Hyperion stared at Percy. The scythe in the Titan's hands suddenly faded into nothingness. Several shadows from the chasm lashed out and grabbed Hyperion's limbs. Another one grabbed his neck and the last one wrapped around his stomach. Hyperion bellowed in surprise and shock. The shadows pulled him into the chasm as Hyperion let loose a scream of fear which became no more than an echo.

The Void closed. Percy immediately fell to his knees and hands. His arms shook and his face was covered in sweat as the exposure to the Void finally took its toll on his body. Percy wanted to just collapse right there, but he had a duty to do. Zoë and Annabeth ran over to him with Zoë carrying Alexis on her back. The two girls said something, but Percy could barely hear anything except a bunch of indistinguishable sounds. Zoë placed Alexis on the ground and Percy immediately staggered over to her. He placed a shaky hand on Alexis' chest and almost immediately, her wounds began to slowly heal. However, the more he healed her, the more energy Percy drained. When he finished, he was so drained of energy that he barely noticed that his entire body was flickering and slowly dissolving into pure shadow.

The Eye of Fate faded from Percy's forehead. The last thing he saw was a blinding flash of light.

* * *

"Percy!" A splash of cold water brought Percy back to his senses. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Zoë looking down at him worriedly. "Finally you're awake."

Percy slowly sat up and doing so felt like he was sitting up with a million pounds on his chest. His body began to slowly wake up and he slowly took in his surroundings. He, Zoë, and Annabeth were at a room full of waterfalls. The floor was one big pit, ringed by a slippery stone walkway. On all four walls, water tumbled from huge pipes. The water spilled down into the pit, which seemed bottomless. Though the others didn't seem to notice anything, Percy felt an uneasiness here. If there was such thing as demonic water, then this place was full of it.

"What happened?" Percy asked.

"You collapsed," Annabeth said matter-of-factly. "Afterwards, a man named Aether appeared and took Alexis. He claimed that he was her father."

"Aether? He came?" Percy said, a little shocked. Annabeth nodded. Percy wanted to say more, but something in the water made his senses go off. Something was wrong here.

Just then, a geyser of water erupted from the pit and smashed into the ground, spraying water everywhere. Instinctively, Percy held out his hand and a barrier of darkness formed, blocking the water. However, he immediately fell back and Zoë had to support him, as he was too weak to do so on his own.

The water cleared, revealing a man with messy sea green hair. The man stood up and regarded the trio with a neutral expression. He was dressed in a deep blue armor that was etched with wavy patterns like the waves of the sea. A cape of a lighter shade of blue hung from his shoulders to his ankles. The man's eyes were completely blue. His body seemed to be made out of water.

"So," the man boomed. His voice sounded like the waves crashing on the shore. "You're my sister's new champion, eh?"

Percy stared up at the man. "Who are you?" Percy thought he heard a derisive scoff in the back of his mind, but he ignored it.

The man grinned slightly. "What, you don't recognize your uncle? Well, I suppose the darkness is really your specialty, although it would be nice if you had the power of water instead."

"Water?" Annabeth said. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "You're Hydros, Primordial God of the Sea!"

Hydros groaned. He turned back to the pit. "See? I_ told_ you that they would get it wrong! You owe me a thousand drachmas now, little bro!" The water in the pit seemed to become more active, sloshing around and roaring even louder as if somebody were responding to Hydros' remark.

Hydros sighed and turned back to Annabeth. "I'm the Primordial of Water, not the Seas. That's Pontus' job." He rolled his eyes. "Anyways, whatever." He turned to Percy and grinned. "Word has it that you bear the Mantle of Fate! Can I see?"

Percy's eyes widened. "Uh..."

"Great!" Hydros placed a hand on Percy's forehead and nodded approvingly. "So you do wield the Mantle of Fate! Still, you must of been using it a lot. Your friend inside you is pretty beat up."

Percy could barely understand what the god was even talking about. "Uh...thanks. So, why are you here?"

Hydros' grin faded. "Well, I came here to warn you." His expression turned serious. "The camp that you're trying to protect is in danger. The Titan Army is advancing as we speak, and there are two Titans leading the way. Unfortunately for you, I don't know who they are. I'm an ignorant god, you see. I only stay in the sea."

Percy's eye twitched. "Um, thanks. Can you send us to Camp Half-Blood?"

Hydros stroked his chin. "Hmm...don't know if you can survive it, of course." He looked over the three. "Let's see...son of Erebus and son of Poseidon—not going to ask how that happened...well, you're fine. Daughter of Athena...well, Athena only hates Poseidon, so you're fine. And you, daughter of—oh dear..." Zoë felt a sense of dread. "Oh no..."

Percy sat up immediately, ignoring his fatigue. "What's wrong with Zoë?" he demanded.

"Hmm? Did I say that?" Hydros said, distracted. "I just got a message from Ananke that Chronos tripped again, disrupting the space-time continuum for millions of light-years. Apparently, he also accidentally set off some kind of weapon shaped like a halo or something..." Percy, Zoë, and Annabeth stared at Hydros weirdly. "Anyways, you're all good to go. Have fun fighting! And don't forget to get me a souvenir, Percy! And watch out for the Seer, he's a real nasty opponent."

_Seer? Who's the Seer?_ Percy thought as he, Zoë, and Annabeth disappeared in a cloud of water vapor.

Hydros chuckled. "Perzoë...that's the stupidest couple name you've ever come up with, Phanes." He turned to leave, but halted. He turned around again. His eyes saddened. "Perseus Jackson...by accepting the Mantle of Fate, you curse your own fate. Until the day you die, you will never truly find peace."

* * *

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	15. The Battle of the Labyrinth

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Heroes of Olympus series.**

**Read/Fav/Follow/Review/Enjoy!**

*******If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

Percy, Zoë, and Annabeth reappeared in front of Chiron, who reached for his bow, but halted when he saw that it was only them. He sighed in relief. "I take it the mission went well, then?"

Percy nodded. "We were able to rescue Alexis. She's returned home now."

"Zoë! Percy!" Thalia ran over, holding a silver bow. "Great, you guys made it."

Zoë stepped forward. "What's going on here?"

"The Hunters are here. We're helping the campers fight the Titan Army. We're setting up traps now." Thalia glanced at Percy. "We could use your help."

Percy nodded. "Thalia's right. You should go." Zoë nodded and ran off after Thalia.

It was easily the biggest military operation Percy had ever seen at camp. Every camper was at the clearing, dressed in full battle armor, but this time it wasn't for capture the flag. The Hephaestus cabin had set up traps around the entrance to the Labyrinth—razor wire, pits filled with pots of Greek fire, rows of sharpened sticks to deflect a charge. Beckendorf was manning two catapults the size of pickup trucks, already primed and aimed at Zeus's Fist. The Ares cabin was on the front line, drilling in phalanx formation with Clarisse calling orders. Apollo's and Hermes's cabins were scattered in the woods with bows ready. Many had taken up positions in the trees. Even the dryads were armed with bows, and the satyrs trotted around with wooden cudgels and shields made of rough tree bark.

Annabeth had gone to join her siblings, who had set up a command tent and were directing operations. A gray banner with an owl fluttered outside the tent. The camp's security chief, Argus, stood guard at the door. Aphrodite's children were running around straightening everybody's armor and offering to comb the tangles out of their horsehair plumes. Nico and Bianca were standing beside Clarisse, both with serious expressions on their faces. The Hunters were setting up traps and taking their positions in the trees with Zoë leading them. Percy's stomach suddenly flipped.

The campers and Hunters combined were about 120 strong. The traps and all were impressive, but Percy's heart sank as he remembered that two Titans were leading the charge.

Chiron must have seen his facial expression, because he nodded grimly. "This isn't enough."

Percy nodded. "Still, it's all we have. This'll have to do." An idea suddenly came to his mind.

Chiron faced Percy with a serious expression. "When the fighting begins, I want you to wait until we know what we're dealing with. You must go where we most need reinforcements."

Percy nodded grimly. "There are going to be two Titans leading the army. I haven't able to find out who they are though. If it's someone like Kronos..."

Chiron's eyes filled with worry. "Then the most we can do is pray to the gods."

Percy looked at the campers. They seemed ready for battle, but he could see the fear and anxiety on their faces. Even the Hunters seemed fearful of he approaching battle. Zoë met his gaze and nodded grimly. Percy nodded back. He turned to Chiron. "I need some time alone."

Percy walked away and stepped into a shadow. The darkness lent him its power, and his fatigue began to disappear. Still, that was not the reason why he came here. Concentrating, he placed his hands on the ground. They dissolved into darkness. Percy sent a cry for help to one of his favorite siblings—the goddess of chaos and strife. Whether she heard or not, he didn't know.

Just then, the ground began to rumble. Percy vanished into the shadows and reappeared beside Chiron. The shadows wrapped around his body and formed his armor. Shade shot out of the darkness and into his open hand. A black shield formed on his left arm. Percy walked up to Clarisse and nodded. She nodded back. Percy turned to the demigods. "Don't attack until I say so. If the Titan Army wants to to kill us, they will find it difficult to do so. This camp has cared for you and protected you. It is like a mother to you all. Fight for her!" A shout of agreement rose up through the demigods.

Percy turned to Nico and Bianca. "Are you two ready?" They nodded. "Good. I won't stop you from fighting, but don't rush into battle. You're still too inexperienced. Wait for the phalanx to take the brunt of the blow before attacking."

The ground suddenly stopped rumbling. Percy's eyes widened and he nodded to Clarisse. "Lock shields!" she barked. The shields slammed together and snapped shut, forming a wall of Celestial bronze and muscle.

The Titan Army burst out of the Labyrinth. Twelve Laistrygonian Giants ran at the demigods, bellowing a battle cry. They carried shields made from flattened cars, and clubs that were tree trunks with rusty spikes bristling at the end. The giants were followed by several smaller giants.

"Hold!" Percy shouted. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses. His eyes snapped open. "_Cethin, now!_" A wall of hellhounds on either side of the giants leaped out of the shadows, growling and barking. Cethin was leading them. He let out a roar and leaped towards a giant and clamped down on the giant's neck. With a painful wail, the giant disintegrated. The rest of the giant's brethren were quick to follow him to Tartarus.

However, the campers had barely any time for respite. A massive group of dracaenae, perhaps two hundred or so, burst out of the Labyrinth, dressed in full battle armor and wielding spears and nets.

"Hellhounds, back up! Beckendorf, fire the catapults! Archers, fire at will!" Percy yelled. A barrage of bronze and silver arrows rained down upon the monsters, vaporizing many of them. Two massive boulders smashed into the lines of the dracaenae, crushing several of them at once. The hellhounds retreated to Percy's side and growled at the enemy. Many of the dracaenae caught destroyed by the traps, and just as it seemed that they were going to get overwhelmed, the rest of the Titan Army appeared.

A wide variety of monsters barreled towards the demigods. Enemy demigods followed, wielding axes, swords, spears, bows, etc. They clashed with the phalanx and the hellhounds. Percy leapt into battle and brandished his sword.

He rushed forward and sliced the head off a dracaena and immediately spun and swung his sword, cutting off the hand of a demigod. The demigod screamed in pain, but quickly met his end as Shade slid across his throat, slicing it open. Percy ducked under a sword strike and raised his shield to block another strike. He swung his sword across a monster's neck and vaulted over a telekhine before spinning and slashing a cut across its back. Percy then held his shield out and leaped backwards, slamming his shield into the face of an enemy demigod. The enemy demigod toppled to the ground on top of a telekhine. Percy stabbed the chest of the demigod and the point of the blade impaled the telekhine's body as well, killing both of them.

Percy fought like a demon. He chopped off the leg of a Cyclopes and spun around, slamming his shield into the neck of a dracaena, breaking her neck. He jumped over her disintegrating body and brought his sword down on an unsuspecting monster. A spear jabbed at him, but Percy sidestepped and stepped into the demigod's guard before stabbing him in the neck. Blood poured onto Percy's hand and arm, but he ignored it and ripped his sword out of the demigod's neck.

The other monsters stared at him with fear in their eyes. It was obvious to them that he wasn't the average fighter. His sword fighting skills were on par with several gods.

Percy smirked and charged. He ducked under a swing and rolled to avoid another. He came up, slashing upwards, killing a telekhine. He immediately jumped to the side, falling into a shadow.

He reappeared next to Bianca and blocked a sword aiming for her face. The enemy demigod found himself on the ground with a slit throat a second later. Percy turned to Bianca and Nico. "Are you two alright?" Bianca and Nico nodded. They looked tired, but also a little excited. "Alright. Good luck, you two." Percy ran off and his eyes widened. Cethin had several spears in his body and was dripping ichor heavily. Any more injuries and he would disintegrate into darkness.

Percy ran towards Cethin. "Cethin!" The hellhound leaped over a group of monsters and stood next to him; panting heavily. Percy placed a hand on the hellhound's snout. He surveyed the situation. "The tide of the battle has turned to our advantage. Take the hellhounds and retreat. You've done enough." Cethin nodded and ran off.

Before Percy could rejoin the fight, an unearthly shriek echoed from the Labyrinth and a dark figure shot into the sky. Percy saw the monster's bat wings and his eyes widened. It was Kampê, the jailor of Tartarus. She landed on the top of Zeus' Fist and surveyed the carnage. Her face was filled with evil glee. The mutant animal heads growled at her waist. Snakes hissed and swirled around her legs. In her right hand she held a glittering ball of thread—Ariadne's string—but she popped it into a lion's mouth at her waist and drew two curved swords. The blades glowed green and dripped with poison. Kampê screeched in triumph, making some of the campers scream while others tried to run and got trampled by Hellhounds or Laistrygonian Giants.

"Di Immortales!" Chiron yelled.

He quickly aimed an arrow, but Kampê seemed to sense his presence. She ducked with amazing speed, and Chiron's arrow whizzed harmlessly past her head. She took flight and soared over the campers. Percy summoned his bow and pulled back on the string. An arrow of darkness formed on it and Percy let the arrow fly. The arrow seemed to curve in mid-air like a homing missile, catching Kampê in her right wing. She screeched in pain and just then, three silver arrows sprouted on her left wing, courtesy of Zoë.

As Kampê fell to the ground, Percy vanished into the shadows and reappeared in front of the monster. She snarled and swung her blades at him, but Percy blocked and countered. She dodged his strike and stabbed at him. Percy blocked with his shield, but the force of the strike sent him stumbling backwards. A lion's head popped out of her waist and snapped its jaws at Percy, but Percy slashed wildly, decapitating it. Kampê hissed in rage and lunged. A deformed wolf's head growled at Percy, but Percy dodged and sliced the head into two.

Just then, the head of a bear shot out and slammed into his shield. Percy toppled to the ground and just barely blocked Kampê's assault. She stabbed again. This time, he blocked the first blade, but the second blade cut a small cut on his arm. A spike of pain drilled itself into Percy's arm. He rolled back and ducked under a strike. Immediately he collapsed to one knee as the poison began to affect him. Kampê screeched in triumph and raised her blades to finish him off.

Suddenly, a massive barrage of arrows struck her in the face and neck before and bolt of lightning struck her body, leaving nothing behind except a charred area of grass and two molten pools of metal from Kampê's scimitars.

Percy stood up unsteadily and took a step forward. He would have collapsed immediately, but two pairs of strong hands grabbed him and supported him. Zoë and Thalia helped him stand and he nodded in thanks.

Zoë shoved a piece of ambrosia into his mouth. "Eat," she ordered. She immediately poured nectar into his wound. Out of the corner of his eye, Percy could see Thalia grinning slightly and trying hard not to laugh. "Drink." Zoë jammed the flask of nectar into his mouth and Percy nearly choked. As he drank, he felt the poison disappear, but the fatigue and pain remained.

"How's the battle?" Percy asked.

Thalia grinned. "We've almost overwhelmed the enemy. It's only a few minutes before we win."

Percy nodded. Just then, he saw a dark shape in the sky. His eyes widened. He pulled Thalia aside and raised his shield. The spear ripped through his shield and kept going, ripping the shield from his arm and jamming it into the ground. Percy immediately looked for the source of the spear and paled. Two Titans were standing at the Labyrinth entrance. One was wielding a spear and the other was wielding a scythe.

"Kronos and Iapetus," Zoë said in awe and fear. The Titan King and the Titan of the West were both dressed in armor. Kronos' armor was completely golden and Iapetus' armor was silvery. Kronos held his scythe and Iapetus gripped his spear tightly, glaring at Percy.

Percy's eyes narrowed. "If Kronos attacks, he'll decimate the campers." He vanished into the shadows with the two girls and they reappeared in front of everyone else.

Chiron nodded to them in greeting. "It appears that Kronos has possessed Luke's body." Percy's eyes widened. "Whether doing so restricts his power or not, I do not know."

Kronos stepped forward. "Well, well, well," he said, grinning. "Percy Jackson, the legendary son of Erebus."

Percy's eyes narrowed. "Well, well, well. Kronos, the legendary god of all dicks."

Kronos spread out his arms. "Come, then, Jackson. Fight me. Prove to me that you can win against the Titan of Time himself!" His scythe gleamed in the sunlight.

Percy raised his sword. "And what about Iapetus?"

"I'll fight him." A girl stepped out from the woods. She was dressed in golden armor and was wielding a glowing staff.

Percy's eyes widened before they narrowed. "You shouldn't have come back."

"You think I'd miss this?" Alexis walked up to his side. "Forget it."

"But your injuries—"

"Are completely fine," Alexis interrupted. "And besides. I want revenge." She turned to Zoë. "Will you help me?"

Zoë nodded. "I can cover you."

Percy nodded. "Then let's go. Good luck, both of you." He jumped back into the shadows and reappeared next to Kronos. He swung his sword, but Kronos grinned and snapped his fingers. Almost instantly, Percy slowed down to the speed of a snail. His eyes widened as his body refused to respond. Kronos twirled his scythe idly and approached Percy, grinning. Just then, Percy felt a rush of strength and he burst out of the time spell somehow. Kronos, caught off guard, stepped back.

"How did you do that?" Kronos demanded.

Percy shrugged. "I have no idea," he said honestly. He rushed again and this time, Kronos stomped his foot. Time slowed again, but Percy immediately snapped out of the time spell and swung his blade at the Titan's chest. Kronos blocked and countered, but Percy quickly sidestepped and stabbed at Kronos. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zoë and Alexis engage in battle with Iapetus.

Kronos sliced downward with his scythe and Percy leaped back. The blade missed his face by an inch. Percy kicked Kronos back and lunged at the Titan. He swung his sword in a blow that would have lopped off the Titan King's head, but Kronos ducked and sliced at Percy's neck. Percy just managed to dodge and he stepped back. Kronos lunged and slammed the butt of his scythe into Percy's chest, sending his toppling. In a flash, Kronos was beside him, slashing downwards. Percy rolled back and summoned a black shield. He charged and Kronos twirled his scythe before slamming his scythe into Percy's shield.

Several yards away, Iapetus jabbed his spear at Alexis' side. She blocked the strike with her staff and rolled back. Her staff glowed and turned into a glowing spear. Alexis charged again and she and Iapetus exchanged blows. Zoë shot arrows whenever a chink in Iapetus' armor was exposed. The Titan roared in pain whenever an arrow found its mark, but the arrows seemed to only annoy him rather than hurt him. Iapetus swung his spear at Alexis, but she ducked and sidestepped another strike. She swung her spear at Iapetus and the spear smacked him in the face. Iapetus stumbled back and a silver arrow lodged itself in his forehead. He bellowed in agony and ripped the arrow out before charging again.

Kronos would have taken the son of Erebus' head off, but Percy blocked the strike with his shield and lunged. His blade should have run the Titan through, but the blade bounced off the Titan's stomach. Percy's eyes widened in shock and he just barely dodged an attack from Kronos. Percy stepped back and scowled. How could it be that Kronos was invulnerable?

Kronos grinned. "You have no chance of defeating me, Jackson. You may have killed my brothers Koios and Hyperion, but they were weak. My power is much more than what you can handle, even with that strange other side of yours."

Percy ignored Kronos and charged. The Titan grinned and swung his scythe at Percy. Percy raised his shield to block, but the force of the strike was so great that it impaled the shield. Kronos drew his scythe back, ripping the shield from Percy's arm and tossing it behind him. Kronos then charged and swung his scythe at Percy's face. Percy intercepted the strike with his sword, but the scythe kept going and nearly cut Percy's face. He stumbled back and Kronos lunged, kicking him back.

Percy stood up unsteadily as fatigue gripped his body. His muscles screamed in protest and his bones ached. His body was already at its limit, having endured being exposed to the Void, fighting through an army of monsters and demigods, and finally fighting the jailor of Tartarus.

Before Percy could do anything, Kronos lunged at him. Percy raised his sword, but he knew in the back of his mind that he wouldn't be able to block the blow.

Suddenly, a black blur shot out of the shadows and slammed into Kronos. The Titan toppled to the ground and stood up quickly only to be trampled by Cethin. Kronos yelled in pain and he reached for his scythe, but Cethin stepped on it and clamped his teeth down on the Titan's arm. Cethin's teeth bounced off, but Kronos still roared in pain. He yelled and an invisible force slammed into Cethin, sending him flying back. The hellhound landed on his feet and growled menacingly. Kronos retrieved his scythe and glared at the hellhound. Cethin pounced at Kronos, who swung his scythe and cut a deep gash in the hellhound's torso. However, Cethin still slammed into Kronos with the force of a bullet train and Kronos went flying.

He landed on the ground roughly and glared at Percy. "This isn't over, Jackson." He disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Percy immediately ran over to Cethin, who collapsed to the ground. The hellhound began to slowly dissolve. Percy placed a hand on Cethin's side. He knew that there was absolutely nothing that he could do to save the hellhound. "You've been a good leader, Cethin. I'll miss you."

_As will I, my lord, _the hellhound said._ It has been an honor fighting beside you, Lord Perseus._

"Likewise." Percy prayed to Nyx that she would give her son the proper burial rites. "Now rest."

The hellhound's eyes closed and he let out one last breath before slowly dissolving into darkness. Percy blinked back the tears and his fatigue disappeared as a feeling a rage engulfed his body. Even if it killed him, Percy was going to tear Kronos apart limb by limb. "From sea to shining sea?" Screw that. Percy was going to turn it into "from limb to bloody limb."

"NO! BIANCA!" Percy whirled around at the sound of Nico's scream. He paled immediately. Iapetus' spear had lodged itself in Bianca's chest. Several arrows had pierced his heart and head.

Iapetus was the first of the two to fall to the ground. He fell backwards and crumpled to the ground before disintegrating.

Bianca's bow dropped from her hand and seemed to fall to the ground in slow-motion. She collapsed to her knees and it was at this time that Percy broke into a sprint, running towards the daughter of Hades. Bianca fell forward, but Percy caught her before she did.

"Bianca!" Nico ran up to his sister and fell to his knees. He dropped his sword beside him. He cradled Bianca's head and tears streamed from his eyes. "You can't die! You can't leave me! Please don't die!"

Bianca smiled gently and grabbed Nico's hand weakly. "There's nothing you can do, little brother." She coughed and a stream of blood trickled out of her mouth.

"Bianca, don't try to speak," Percy said. "We can fix this, don't worry!" However, he knew that it was impossible. There was too much blood. Even if the wound was healed, Bianca would die. It was too late.

Bianca shook her head feebly. "You know that's impossible, Percy."

"Bianca..." Over time, Percy, Bianca, and Nico had become almost like siblings, with Percy being the over-protective big brother. "Don't say that! We can fix this! We-we can..." His voice broke as hopelessness overcame him.

"Percy..." Zoë grabbed his hand and squeezed gently. She gazed at him with sad eyes. Percy gritted his teeth and didn't look at her.

"Bianca, please don't go!" Nico cried. Bianca smiled gently. Her breathing got quicker.

"Nico...I...I love you. Please...don't mourn me too much...Don't push everyone...away because...because of this..." She reached out for Nico's hand but went limp just before Nico could grab it. Her eyes stared blankly at the sky.

"Bianca! No! Bianca! _Bianca!_" Nico hugged her body and sobbed, rocking back and forth. Percy's hands clenched and shook with despair and anger. He reached out with a shaky hand and closed Bianca's eyes. She almost looked like she was just sleeping.

Just then, Alexis cried out in pain and tumbled to the ground. Above her stood a golden Titan.

Percy stood up and growled. The shadows writhed and a dark fog settled on the ground, responding to Percy's rage. The demons of hell itself seemed to be shifting in the darkness, howling and screaming for death. "Helios...you will die here today."

Helios sneered. "You killed my father. You shall now experience the full wrath of the sun!" He raised his blade to finish Alexis off, laughing. A golden apple suddenly flew into his mouth and exploded, sending him flying backwards. Helios stood up and bellowed in anger. "Who dares to strike me with an apple?"

Percy saw someone walk up beside him in the corner of his eye. She had black hair as black as Night and black feathery wings. She had black eyes that glinted with madness and a smile like that of a serial killer's was plastered on her face.

"Now then, Helios." Eris' grin widened. "Let's have some fun."

* * *

**Please don't kill me. ._.**

**Anyways, I will now answer some reviews.**

**flamingmonkey0: _there was a frozen reference wasn't there 'froze entire kingdom' or something ehh_**

**A: Yup.**

**Alexorder159: Good story plot. Keeps me guessing what exactly the other mantle is (Chapter 8 anyone?). Definitely uses a non Percy Jackson Wiki for Phanes (Primordial god of Appearance, First Born, and a Hermaphrodite). Amazing characters' personality.**

**A: Thanks for the review! The funny thing is that I have no idea what you mean by the "Chapter 8 anyone?" part. And I'm the author. :P Yeah, I'm hopeless.**

**As always thanks for the reviews, and keep them coming!**

**Also, suggestions are welcome, as always. Seriously, I want suggestions, guys. I can't write this on my own.**

**Cheers.**


	16. The Child Of Light's Final Stand

**Disclaimer: I don****'****t own PJO or Heroes of Olympus.**

**Read/Fav/Follow/Review/Enjoy!**

***If you notice any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me!**

* * *

Percy rolled his eyes and glared at his older half-sister. "You are very late."

"Hey, at least I came," Eris shot back.

"You probably just came because there was a major battle going on and you wanted to shove a grenade down somebody's pants just like last time."

"That was one time!" Eris protested. "Whatever. Are we going to kill this undead ugly-ass Titan or not?"

"Your move."

Eris grinned and conjured up a black spear. "I am going to shove this spear straight up your ass, Titan."

"Way too detailed, sis," Percy muttered. The two children of Erebus and Nyx charged. Helios growled and parried Eris' strike before swinging his sword at Percy. Percy ducked and swung his sword at Helios' neck. At the same time, Eris jabbed at Helios's stomach. Helios sidestepped and blocked the attacks. He lashed out with his sword, cutting a gash in Percy's arm. Percy ignored the injury and lunged. His sword just barely scratched the Titan on the face.

Helios staggered back. "My face!" he said, shocked. "My beautiful face—"

"—created cancer," Eris finished, stabbing at Helios' chest. The spear ripped through his armor, but Helios jumped back before any more damage could be done. Percy lunged and slashed across the Titan's chest, cutting a deep gash. Helios bellowed in pain and kicked Percy back. Percy let himself fall into the shadows and reappeared at the Titan's left side. Helios barely managed to block a thrust aimed at his chest. He parried another strike and lunged at Percy.

Just then, a silver arrow pierced his forehead and he stumbled. Eris kicked the Titan's legs from under him and jabbed at the Titan's chest. Helios rolled back and got up, growling. Helios attacked with a flurry of thrusts and stabs but Percy and Eris were quick, never standing in one place long enough for Helios to land a strike. Helios slowed down and held a defensive position. Just then, Percy jabbed at Helios. Helios sidestepped the attack and stepped into Percy's guard. He drove a fist into Percy's jaw causing him to stumble back before the Titan landed a hard kick to his chest that sent him flying several feet back, almost hitting Eris. Eris just barely dodged. Helios took advantage of her disorientated state and swung his sword at her neck. Eris blocked, but received a kick to the chest.

Percy got up unsteadily, struggling to get air into his lungs. Helios lunged at him, but Zoë and the Hunters sent a barrage of arrows his way, covering him with arrows. Helios winced in pain and jumped back. Just then, a massive beam of light smashed into the Titan, sending him flying backwards. Alexis appeared behind him and slammed her spear through his shoulder, pinning him to the ground. Helios let out a bellow of pain. He yelled and an invisible force slammed into Alexis, Percy, and Eris, sending them flying.

With a triumphant grin, Helios charged at Zoë, cutting down the arrows that flew towards him. Zoë drew two hunting knives and parried the Titan's first strike. However, the force of the strike was enough to push her back. Helios lunged and kicked Zoë's legs from underneath her and raised his sword to impale her. One of the Hunters screamed.

As Helios' sword traveled downwards, a shadow shot out of the darkness and wrapped itself around the sword and Helios' hand, restraining him. Another shadow wrapped around his other arm. Helios growled in anger and yelled. A blast of light exploded from him and the shadows receded.

Just then, a black spear flew towards Helios' face, but the Titan swatted it aside. He turned back to Zoë, who was disorientated from the light, and raised his blade again. Percy appeared in front of Zoë and held out his hands. A barrier of darkness formed. Helios' sword bounced off the barrier and at that time, Alexis shot a beam of light at Helios. Helios flew back several feet and got up, growling. He held out his hand, but Alexis shouted. A massive beam of light erupted from the sky and slammed into Helios. Helios let out a scream of pain as he vaporized into nothingness.

Percy helped Zoë up and nodded at Alexis. She nodded back. Just then, he felt a massive aura sweep through the battlefield. Nobody else seemed to notice it except Alexis, who glanced at Percy with an alarmed look. He looked around for the source of the aura, but he found nothing.

"We won," a camper said in disbelief.

Percy looked down at Bianca's body, which Nico was still cradling, weeping silently. "No. We didn't." He vanished into the shadows.

* * *

Zoë found Percy standing over a hellhound, who had its head bowed. Percy placed his hand on the hellhound's head. "Aeron, recall every hellhound. Prepare them for Cethin's funeral." The hellhound ran off into the darkness.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," Percy said after a while. He turned around and faced Zoë. "About the prophecy. I'm guessing that it's complete, but...who knows. We never got the full prophecy anyways. As for that other prophecy..." He frowned.

"_A half-blood of the eldest gods _

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds _

_And see the world in endless sleep, _

_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap _

_A single choice shall end his days _

_Olympus to preserve or raze_.

"A half-blood of the eldest gods...Thalia's a Hunter, so she'll never reach sixteen. Could it be Nico who's the hero of the prophecy?" Percy wondered.

"Or you," Zoë said. "You are partly the son of Poseidon."

Percy sat down and leaned against a tree. "Unfortunately. Honestly, I'd rather have it be me than Nico. I don't want to put any more stress on his mind. He's already had enough to deal with." The shadows shifted and a small black mass ran out of the shadows and leaped into Percy's arms. Percy grinned slightly. Gared licked his face and barked excitedly at Zoë. He ran towards her and she knelt down, scooping the hellhound in her arms. She sat down next to Percy.

"Kronos is invulnerable," Percy suddenly said.

"What?" Zoë said, caught off-guard. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know." Percy scowled. "It shouldn't _be_ possible. Even if he's a Titan...being invulnerable is a completely different level. There's only one way I can think that would give someone invulnerability. If I want to challenge Kronos, then I'll have to do the same thing he did."

Zoë's eyes widened as she caught on. "No. That could kill you!"

Percy shook his head. "We don't have a choice. We can't afford to have Kronos rampaging through the demigods, slaughtering them. And this Mantle of Fate thing...I can't depend on it to save me every time. Chances are that it won't."

Zoë glared at Percy for a moment. "Don't bother trying to convince me otherwise, Zoë," Percy said. "You know me. I'm the stubbornest person on the planet, as you've said once before."

Zoë rolled her eyes. She felt a massive amount of worry for Percy. "If you die...we'll lose this war."

"If I don't try this, we'll lose either way," Percy countered. He sighed. After a while, he spoke. "Will you come with me to the Styx? I'd rather not have to go through this alone."

Zoë nodded. "Of course."

Percy nodded. He grinned a little. "A drachma says I'll survive."

Zoë's eyes narrowed. "You're on, Jackson."

* * *

Percy stared down at the rapid waters of the River Styx. He turned back towards Zoë and the ghostly form of Achilles. "Uh...so I just dive in?"

Achilles nodded. "Dive in. But be warned. Many have tried to gain invulnerability from the Styx. Few have survived the ordeal. Keep in mind your mortal point!"

"Thanks for telling me that now, Mr. Optimist," Percy muttered.

Behind Percy's back, Achilles stared the son of Erebus in both shock and sadness. Achilles could sense the power of the Mantle of Fate within Percy. He knew of the terrible power that the Mantle of Fate possessed, but he also knew of how dangerous it was. The games of fate were not to be trifled with and could easily kill the challenger of the game as well as the challenged.

Percy stared at the Styx and took a deep breath. He dived into the pool and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to start.

For a blissful second, nothing happened. Then a massive wave of pain slammed into Percy so suddenly that he was temporarily stunned. He struggled to keep his thoughts in mind, but he could feel his mind being stripped and burned away by the Styx.

Just then, his mind exploded with pain and Percy let out a scream of agony. The pain got worse and his head felt like splitting. Percy was about to black out from the pain, but it suddenly ended. He opened his eyes slowly and his eyes widened in shock.

Standing in front him was a duplicate of himself. His duplicate had completely black eyes and a symbol of an eye glowed on his duplicate's head.

Percy's duplicate stared back at Percy before smirking. "So. We meet at last, Percy Jackson."

Percy stared at his duplicate. "Who are you?"

His duplicate grinned. "I am Morus, the Mantle of Fate."

* * *

**I realize that this is the shortest chapter ever written for this story, and I apologize for it, but i couldn't think of any other part to have a good break.**

**Also, I've been busier than usual, helping my friend out with his story (he hasn't posted it anywhere yet, so don't go looking).**

**But anyways, enough with the useless excuses. The next chapter will be longer, I promise. **

**Cheers.**


	17. Author's Note

**This is not a chapter. I know, it's disappointing. I have an announcement to make.**

**First of all, before anybody starts jumping to conclusions and cursing me out in the reviews, _I am NOT abandoning this_ story. Please read that several times.**

**I just want to say that there are a few chapters left in my other story, The Hero Out of Time, so I will be finishing that before posting the next chapter on this story, which has more chapters left than the other story.**

**I know it's disappointing, but I hope you will continue to support me.**

**Cheers.**

_***This message will be deleted in five days on Friday.* **_


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